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About Google Book Search Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at |http : //books . google . com/| OF ^^t^ ^^TTra^ DORA LEVITAN MEMORIAL Gift of MORTIMER LEVITAN 3-E-5 i ( SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY Specially prepared BAGS are made only by THE UNION BAG & PAPER COMPANY 17 Battery Place New York For particulars see notice at the back of book SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY BT NICOLAS ^OYER LATB CHEF, BROOKS'S CLUB, LONDON flew Votfi STURGIS & WALTON COMPANY 1911 Ail rights reserved COPTRIGHT 191 1 Bj STURGIS & WALTON COMPANY Set np and eleetrotjped. Pnbliahed, J11I7, 191 1 Reprlnud, Aagutt, 191 1 \ CONTENTS PAGE iNTKODUCnON 7 General Dibections 19 Time Table for Cooking 26 Recipes:—- Fish 27 Entries 40 Poultry 59 Roast 65 Vegetables 66 Savories : 71 Sweets 74 G>LD Meat Gx)kery 82 Breakfast Dishes 86 The Bag and the Bachelor 92 A Week's Dinners for . a Working Man's Home 99 Invaud Cookery no Mr. George R. Sims on Paper-Bag Cookery . 113 From a Health Point of View, by Dr. Charles Reinharot 126 NOTE TO AMERICAN EDITION MSOYER'S system of Paper-Bag Ccxjkery has made a great furor in England, and the English press have everywhere given it the attention it de- serves. It already has hosts of adherents. The method fully merits all that has been said in its favor. On account of its cleanliness, it is hygienic; because of the conservation of flavors which it permits, it tempts the appetite and makes food palatable ; because of the lack of waste connected with it, it is the most eco- nomical mode of cookery, — a consideration which cannot be ignored in this day of high prices. For all these reasons there is no doubt that, when M. Soyer's method is once understood, it will be eagerly adopted by housewives and cooks all over the country. It is, moreover, so simple that it can be easily learned by the veriest tyro in the culinary art. The present edition has been carefully re- vised by the present writer to suit American 5 6 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY needs. American equivalents have been sub- stituted for culinary words and phrases which are peculiar to England. A word must be added in commendation of M. Soyer's recipes. They have the great virtue of simplicity, so that any reader can understand and practise his directions. More- over, they are adapted to the use of house- holds in which rigid economy must be ob- served, and are equally well suited to the Menage in which expense is no consideration. They are, therefore, a boon to the humblest housewife and an inspiration to the chef of the most elaborate establishment. Virginia Terhune Van de Water. INTRODUCTION THE object of these pages is to explain the system of cooking by means of paper-bags, instead of the utensils now in practice in all civilized countries. And it is necessary to state at the outset that I claim no novelty for the principle. I am neither the discoverer of a new invention nor of a patent method for this order of cookery. The principle was known to our forefathers, and I daresay that if I had time to make re- searches I would find evidence that the peo- ples of the Far East cooked their game and fruits in leaves and parchment. There is really nothing new under the sun. What I claim to have done is to apply the principle of Paper-Bag Cookery in a more extensive manner than was imagined to be possible by epicures and experts in general cookery. Perhaps a brief autobiography of myself will aid the reader in his study of the general principle and convince him that my advocacy of the system for all households is based not 7 8 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY on mere theory but long and varied expe- rience. Some years ago I was chef to the Dowager Duchess of Newcastle. I had long been ac- customed to treat small articles en papillottes, a system with which most connoisseurs are familiar. I would take, for example, a piece of cooked fish, and, enveloping it in a sheet of foolscap carefully trimmed to the required size, thrust it into a very hot oven. This im- parted to the fish the flavor of the paper — a taste which, for obvious reasons, is dan- gerous. One day, having covered a piece of fish with foolscap, I instructed the kitchen-maid to add the sauce. She put in too much. By-and-by the paper vessel began to bubble up, and be- fore I could interfere it exploded with a bang. When I came to examine the fish I found that it was beautifully tender. This gave me an idea. " I wonder whether I could cook by steam?" I said to myself. Without a mo- ment's hesitation I put some meat, vegetables, and a little water into an envelope, and laid it on the iron shelf in the oven. The inevi- table happened. The paper got burnt, and soon afterwards it exploded. SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 9 I was not easily daunted. I gave a good deal of thought to the problem. Eventually I came to the conclusion that the explosion was due to my placing the paper vessel on the solid iron shelf, which made it impossible for the air to circulate freely around it. Ac- cordingly I decided to use the broiler in my next experiment. So far as the cooking was concerned the result was splendid. The food was deliciously tender; but, unfortunately, it tasted most unmistakably of the paper, and to serve it was entirely out of the ques- tion. That was fifteen years ago, and for the time, I had to confess myself defeated. As the grandson of "the great Soyer," whose name is known to chefs the. world over, I felt that the difficulty was one which I ought to overcome ; but how to obtain the right kind of paper — if, indeed, it were possible — I did not know. My mind went back to the famous confectioner, Papon, with whom I served my apprenticeship at Clermont-Ferrand. In his way he was a great artist, and I wondered whether he would have been able to solve the problem which now confronted me. I was only fifteen when I joined him — 10 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY having, at the last moment, thrown over my intention of being a clergyman — but he found me a very willing learner. What things we used to make in those days! We were al- ways trying to turn out something fresh, and old Papon did all he could to stimulate the inventive faculties of his apprentices. All the novelties which we made found their way quickly into the window, and vanished from there just as rapidly. But we did everything in the old-fashioned cooking vessels, and of course I learnt nothing that I could turn to advantage when I first directed my attention to Paper-Bag Cookery. Three years after my initial experiments, the matter having meanwhile simmered in my brain, I decided to make another attempt. I was then employed as chef to Sir Herbert Naylor-Leyland, at Hyde Park House. I se- lected a chicken (with some rice), and cov- ered it with foolscap. It came out of the oven bearing a lovely golden tint, and, as I quickly found, with the flesh as tender as could be desired. But, alas ! it tasted of the paper in a most marked degree. The idea, however, still pursued me, and some months afterwards I made another trial SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY ii in my own home. I experimented with a fowl, a few mushrooms, and some rice. Everything was satisfactory, save the taste, and this defect was such that I should have been ashamed to place the dish before any of my friends. What was to be done? So far as I could see the difficulty was insurmount- able, and very reluctantly I allowed the idea of Paper-Bag Cookery, which even then ap- pealed to me strongly, to pass out of my mind. But about three months ago it was revived in a most unexpected manner. One morning I saw in the newspapers that Herr Lampert, a Frankfort chef, had come to London with a special oven of his own invention which he claimed was a necessary accompaniment of Paper-Bag Cookery. He gave a public dem- onstration of his system, which is one of cooking by indirect heat, and, apparently, it pleased everybody. "This won't do," I thought. " If Herr Lampert has done won- derful things, I am certain I can do the same without the aid of any special oven." All my old longing to excel in Paper-Bag Cookery reasserted itself, and I at once sent oflf a challenge to my German rival. It was accepted, and it was arranged that we should 12 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY meet at the National School of Cookery, in Buckingham Palace Road. It was an exact- ing test, but I think I may say that I came out of the ordeal all right. We fought one " duel " before three ex- perts who acted as judges. I was given the j use of a small ordinary oven about a foot and a quarter square; my rival relied on his own special invention. With me I had taken a quantity of grease-proof paper, which I earnestly hoped would give satisfactory re- sults. In all I cooked ii dishes, and every one was done "to a turn." Indeed, the judges found in my favor. " We consider," they said, "that M. Soyer has proved that cooking in paper is possible in an ordinary oven by direct heat." But I was still far from satisfied. Beau* tifuUy cooked though they were, all the ii dishes tasted of paper — the old trouble. I was now filled, however, with the spirit of conquest, and I detemtined to settle the mat- ter once and for all. So I began some ex- periments with a view to finding a proper kind of paper. In this I was completely suc- cessful. I now set to work in grim earnestness in J SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 13 the kitchen at Brooks's Club to make a series of experiments. I started with 18 lb. of beef, and it came out of the oven perfect in every respect. Then I turned my hand to a stew containing mutton and vegetables, and again the result fulfilled my highest expectation. It was the same with the many French dishes which I tried. Always the paper-bag im- proved the flavor, lessened the time neces- sary for cooking, and reduced the shrinkage. At home, also, I was exceedingly busy. I could not rest in my bed, and often I would get up at two o'clock in the morning in order that I might put my paper-bag to some fresh test. I cooked a great variety of articles, not- ing most carefully how long each took, and in what temperatures the best results were ob- tained. Upon these observations I have based in large measure the recipes contained in these pages. I am not really surprised at the interest which the new cookery has aroused. Clearly, it is calculated to effect a decided improvement in the health of the nation. What housewife has not had* to lament the fact that her meat has been badly cooked, or that the cooking has involved a quite prodigious amount of labor? 14 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY With Paper-Bag Cookery there is no likeli- hood of an imperfectly cooked joint. There will be no pots or pans to clean ; the drudgery of the kitchen will be abolished. Moreover, expert cooking, which has hither- to been the luxury of the rich, can now be equally the privilege of the poor. The method can be used with equal success in the cottage and the mansion. No Patent Stove, no Patent Oven or Apparatus, no Patent or Expensive Appliances of any kind are Required. All that is necessary is an oven (no matter what sort), a broiler, and the paper-bag. The broiler is required because the heat must pass underneath and all round the paper-bag to effect the general penetra- tion of the contents of the bag. The system, it will thus be seen, is simple. Under Paper-Bag Cookery the fact that no stew-pans, frying-pans, etc., are required, places the average kitchen-maid in a new re- lation to her work. Lead poison or dirt from iron cooking vessels, or anything in the way of verdigris, is avoided. I need not elaborate here the main advan- tages of this cookery. They are almost self- evident. Briefly expressed, the new cookery SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 15 claims to be a great improvement upon the boiling and baking processes in common use. It prevents the food shrinking or losing its natural flavour and substance. The concen- tration of the heat and the utilization of what at present evaporates into the air impart a wholesome fullness to the food that constitute, particularly in some dishes, a new and de- licious effect. Under my paper-bag I secure the best results and in the case of joints a gravy that contains a strength that, with the addition of hot water, makes a liquid that savors of carefully made beef tea. If this is so — and I am sure that a week's trial of the system will convince the most skeptical that I am not overstating my case — then it must be obvious that the gain to the health and convenience of the average home will be great. It is also clear, I think, that the kitchen will now become a new room, and to those who are familiar with the conditions of the working classes it will be realized that if paper, instead of iron and tin, vessels are used to cook the main dishes of a family, the atmos- phere will be changed, labor will be saved, th^ coal or gas bill will not be so high, and the i6 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY opportunity for that well-known terror with which the scientist has made us familiar, the microbe, for doing mischief will be consid- erably modified. Its adaptability to special classes of the community is recognized. For instance, many women who are fond of cooking. and of ex- perimenting with new dishes are deterred f rc^m it by the dislike of the smell of cooking or the headaches caused by the heat of the range, or the mess made of the hands by contact with greasy pots and pans, hot air, etc. Many can- not spare from outside duties the time in- volved in cooking in the usual way. Paper-Bag Cooking for dwellers in flats and in single rooms is the solution of many a difficulty. One of the chief drawbacks to flats has been the difiiculty of avoiding the smell of cookery. With the paper-bag there is no smell. In the small flat kitchen there is little space for pots and pans. None are needed for Paper-Bag Cooking. Girls and women living alone in single rooms, t3rpists, clerks, and school teachers would rather dine or sup on a bun and glass of milk than face the trouble after a weary day of cooking a meal and washing up afterwards. They may pro- SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 17 vide themselves with a simple and sufficient meal in half an hour, and have nothing to wash but a plate and a knife and fork, if they procure the new paper-bags. Since I started to proclaim the fact that the vast majority of dishes that are placed on the average British table can be cooked in paper-bags I have been encouraged by the cordial endorsement of many well-known epi- cures and brother chefs. Among the latter are nearly all the leading chefs in London, and among the former men with such com- manding experience as Sir Joseph Lyons, who has pointed out the cleanliness of the method. " It is a preventive," he said, " of the con- gregation of microbes that often germinate disease. In many working-class homes, for various reasons, the dishes and pans lie about on tables and dressers without being cleaned for hours. Habit, neglect, or want of time are some of the reasons. The result is that microbes are drawn to the grease and are not so easily exterminated. "Under this system cleanliness is assured. The microbe has no resting place. The clean bag is at hand. When done with it can be thrown into the fire, and thus it secures a i8 SOYER^S PAPER-BAG COOKERY clean kitchen for the homes of the people." With such testimony, and the general assent of thousands of ladies who have attended my public demonstrations, carried on before their eyes, I feel justified in claiming the serious attention of the community to the subject and a trial of the recipes which, after much ex- perience, I have prepared for my paper-bag. I am indebted to the press for the publicity given to my system of cooking. Within a few days it was thus made known far and wide all over the country. I am also indebted to the editor of the Lon- don Daily Chronicle, to Mr. G. R. Sims, Dr. Charles Reinhardt, and Mrs. Alfred Praga, the well-known cookery expert and writer, for permission to reproduce articles which they wrote on my system in that paper. Nicolas Soyer. GENERAL DIRECTIONS I DO not claim for the paper-bag system of cookery that it can cook everything. It is evident that tea must still be made in the teapot. Generally speaking, we may waive our claim to having mastered the diffi- culty with respect to soups, although I have made beef tea with excellent results. The fol- lowing is a list of articles that may in the meantime be avoided: — Soup (except Beef Beans, Tea), Cabbage, Omelette, Cauliflower, Scrambled Eggs, Broccoli, Jam (except in Artichokes, small quanti- Macaroni or kin- ties), dred Italian Scotch Kale, pastes. The success of the system depends entirely upon how it is carried out. Some people have imagined that all that I urge amounts to a 19 20 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY general use of the bag in place of the ordinary saucepan, without any attention to the condi- tions that are essential to good cooking. Good cooking requires time, care, attention to de- tail, taste, and a temperature suited to the particular dish being cooked. While the paper-bag system is labor- and time-saving, as well as affording more nutritive and ap- petizing effects than the present, it does not abrogate any of the rules that apply to effi- cient work at the kitchen-table. A stew must be made up of the ingredients that consti- tute a stew, and proportioned to the number for whom it is required. The same conditions apply to this system. Let me, therefore, go over as minutely as I can — - The Bag.— Specially prepared bags should be used. Without them the method cannot be practiced with assurance of success. The bag should be made of materials that guar- antee itsf purity. It should be odorless, and its purity a guarantee that nothing injurious can possibly be imparted from it to the food cooked in the bag. SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 3i Before using the bags — (i) Select one that " fits " the food in- tended to be cooked; (2) Grease slightly the inside of the bag, except in the case of vegetables or when water is added. For beginners it is advisable. Butter, lard or dripping may be used. (3) When the food has been prepared for the bag, place the same on the table and lift the uppermost edge of the bag while you insert the contents. (4) Fold the mouth of the bag two or three times and fasten with a clip.^ It is desirable to fold the corners of the bag so as to secure as; near as po3sible a her* metical closing. It may occasionally happen that a bag may leak, in which event it is not necessary that the food should be emptied and transferred to another bag. Simply put the bag within another. The Oven.— Practically any oven will do. Paper-Bag Cookery is as well suited to a gas stove as it is to a coal oven, an electricity ^Strong wire paper-clips, obtainable of an^r sti^* tioner, answer the purpose* 22 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY cooker or oil stove, always provided the nec- essary heat is secured. The size of the oven makes no difference to the cooking, only to the size of the article. The oven should be kept clean, of course. Although under the new cookery it is un- necessary ever to have the sides of the in- terior covered with grease and fat, dust is al- ways about, and if the bag is to be absolutely above the slightest contact with the outer world of microbes, the oven should be well and regularly dusted. Before placing the bag with its contents into a gas oven, the gas should be lighted at least eight minutes beforehand. The average oven heat should not be less than 200 degs. Fahr., and when the bag is put into the oven this ought to be reduced in eight minutes after to 170 degs. To find out the correct degree a thermometer, of course, is the most accurate method; but experience will soon teach the cook what is required, and the color assumed by a piece of paper placed in the oven will at once tell whether it is too hot or too cold. In the case of coal-heated stoves with solid shelves a wire broiler should be used. This SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 23 should be placed on the shelf with the bag containing the food. It is necessary to em- phasize the fact that, except in the case of pies, no dish should be used. Some people have failed to obtain the right result, and when inquiries have been made it has been found that the food has been placed in a dish, and the dish placed in the bag, and the bag placed on the broiler! Another important detail is the distance that the bag should be from the gas jet in the case of a gas stove. Generally it should be about an inch above the flame. Order of Articles in the Oven. — As a general rule the order should be as follows : — Roasts and entrees on the lower shelf, fish on the middle, and pastry, etc., on the top, where the heat is most intense. How to Know When the Food is Cooked. — If the time-table is adhered to, the bag may be taken out of the oven in confidence that the food is well cooked. But if from any cause the heat declines, it is very easy to find out whether the food is properly cooked. Except in the case of vegetables, a little hole can be made in the bag by which - 24 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY the food can be seen and judged as to whether it is cooked or not. This will not militate against the cooking of the food in the slight- est In many articles, however, a slight touch of the bag will indicate to an ordinary cook whether the bag is ready to be served. A prick with a needle is another method that may be adopted. But a peculiarly favorable feature of Paper-Bag Gx)kery is that if the food is left five or ten minutes in the bag in the oven longer than the specified time on my table, the food will not be spoiled. There is little chance of over-cooking. Dangers to be Avoided. — > Cooking gener« ally has its dangers, like other occupations. It is the beauty of this system that the dan- gers are reduced to a minimum. One does not require every now and then to open the oven door "to see how the roast is getting on." The oven is doing its work, because the whole force of the heat is playing upon the bag and ensuring every part of the food being properly penetrated. Nevertheless, care should be exercised when opening the oven. A draught from an open door or window may cause a gas flame to ignite a bag. When such SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 25 an accident occurs, the bag should be imme- diately taken out and placed inside another lag and left a few minutes longer to rectify any loss that the food may have sustained in the meantime. Care, again, should be exercised in taking the bag out of the oven. A plate should be placed gently under the bag about a couple of inches and the bag drawn completely on to the plate with the fingers. The bag should be ripped open from the top and the frag- ments thrown at once away. 26 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY TIME TABLE. While in most of the recipes that follow the time re- quired for cooking each article is stated, it will be con- venient, I think, if I set out here an average time-table of dishes: — PISH. — 7 lbs allow 50 minutes 3 lbs " 30 I lb " t8 " H lb*, or filiotcd 'fish .'.*.' .'.*.* .*.'.' .'.'.* " 6 B0A8T8. — ^Beef, 18 lbs " 2 ^ hours " 9 lbs " ijj " 3 lbs " 45 minutes Veal, IS/18 lbs " aji hours " 7 lbs " i^ Pork, IS lbs " 2}4 " " 3 to 4 lbs " 50 minutes Mutton — leg, 8 lbs " lU hours ^3 lbs " so minutes " shoulder, s lbs " 4s minutes 3 lbs " 40 minutes " loin " I hr. 10 mns. " chops " 12 minutes " cutlets " 5 Sausages " 8 " Bacon, sliced " 6 " Thin slice of streaky bacon " 5 ** POULTBY.— Chicken, large " 40 Young Chicken " 40 " Spring " " 2$ Old " " 60 Duck " 35 Old Duck " 45 Turkey (stuffed), 16/18 lbs. " 2 hours (not stuffed) " iH Goose (young one) " i J^ " " (ordinary size).... " 15? " Pigeon (young) ** 12 mint. (old) " 30 Partridge (young) ** is " » (old) " 2S Grouse (young) " 10 " Cold) " 20 Pheasant (young) " 2$ " (old) " 35 10 mins. should be allowed for Quail and aui kinds of small birds. Stew, six persons 40 minutes Vegetables, Potatoes '* 30 " Peas " 2S/30 " Sweets, allow 10 minutes less than any other method. Milk Pudding (in dish, enclosed in paper bag), allow 10 mins. less than any other method. RECIPES FISH No feature of the daily menu is so dainty and delicious as fish. Properly cooked it is at once a delight to the gourmet and a light, nourishing article of diet to the invalid. But nothing is so difficult to cook well — by the ordinary methods — as fish. Its delicate, elusive flavors are so easily lost and its light " flakiness " so easily destroyed. With the paper-bag all this is avoided. The delicate flavors cannot but be retained by a method which allows nothing to escape, and the fish will be found far superior in taste, appearance, and digestibility. Here, too, as with other articles, there is a saving of time, and the various seasonings can be used more economically and to better advantage. Cod Bourgeoise.— • Take two slices of cod, lay them in a well-buttered bag, season with salt and pepper. Place two mushrooms and two sliced tomatoes on the top of the fish, add 27 28 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY a chopped shallot, dot over with butter, squeeze over with lemon juice, seal up, and cook for 13 minutes. Stewed Eels. — Cut up two eels in pieces 2 inches long. Add salt and pepper, chopped parsley, one teaspoonful of flour, a little sweet herbs (according to taste). Add a small chopped onion. Mix this well together. Put in the paper-bag with two spoonfuls of milk, water, or stock (one of either according to taste). Seal up the bag and put on the broiler. Leave 20 minutes in a moderate oven. Butter added to the above in the paper-bag will make the dish richer. After 20 minutes, serve in the paper-bag, or dish in the ordinary way. Fish Croquettes. — Mix i lb. of cooked fish of any variety with two large tablespoon- fuls of white sauc^, season with salt, pepper, and cayenne, and a little chopped parsley. Form into croquettes, roll them in egg and breadcrumbs in the usual way, place them in a well-greased paper-bag, and cook for 20 minutes in a very hot oven. Salmon Croquettes are made in the same way, but should be served with Tartare sauce. SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 29 Smoked Haddock.— Clean a smoked had- dock weighing about 2 lbs., season with cay- enne pepper to taste, but do not use any salt. Pour two large tablespoonfuls of milk over the fish, and cover it with a little white sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, a few bread- crumbs, and enough melted butter to moisten. Place the whole in a well-buttered paper-bag, seal up, and cook for 20 minutes in a very hot oven. Stuffed Fresh Haddock.— Chop a cooked onion and mix it with three tablespoonfuls of breadcrumbs. Add i oz. of butter, salt, and pepper to taste, a little chopped parsley, and one egg. When thoroughly mixed stuff the fish with the mixture, butter a paper-bag, roll the fish in flour, place in the bag, dot over with small pieces of butter, seal up, and cook for 20 minutes. Haddock a la Royale.— Take from four to six fillets of fresh haddock. Spread them with butter. Dip in seasoned flour, and then in grated cheese. Put into a well-greased bag, and add to them a little more than a gill of milk. Cook gently for from 13 to 20 minutes, according to thickness of fillets. Dish up on a hot dish and serve. 30 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY Haddock I la Princesse. — Take two fil- leted haddocks. Rub them over gently with butter with a silver fish-knife. Dip them in flour and then squeeze a little lemon juice over each, and dust lightly with pepper and salt. Place them carefully in a well-greased bag. Add to them half-a-wineglassful each of sherry, and Worcester sauce and water. Fold and seal in bag, and cook in a moderately hot oven from 15 to 18 or 20 minutes, according to the thickness of the fillets. Dish up on a hot dish, pour the liquor in which they were cooked over them, and serve as hot as pos- sible. Cod.— Slice 3 lbs. of fish, season with salt and pepper, add a small chopped onion and a few sweet herbs. Mix i oz. of butter or dripping with a large tablespoonful of flour, add three parts of a glass of milk and stir to a smooth paste. Place all these ingredients with the fish in a well-buttered paper-bag and cook for 20 minutes. Any sauce can be added as flavoring if desired. Cod I la Valeska. — Take a cutlet; spread each side well with butter, dip into sea- SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 31 soned flour, then sprinkle very thickly with finely grated cheese. A mixture of Parmesan and Gruyere is the best, but any kind, even Dutch, will do ; grease a bag well with butter. Put in the fish and add to it a gill of either good fish stock or flavored milk (i.e., milk in which a slice each of onion, turnip, and carrot and a bit of celery have simmered for 15 minutes), and cook for from 20 to jo minutes, according to the thickness of the cutlet, in a moderately hot oven. Turn out gently onto a hot dish. Pour the sauce over, sprinkle flaked shrimps on top and serve. The shrimps should be made hot, not cooked, in a little roll of well-greased Soyer paper separately. Halibut a la Minute.— Season a slice of halibut about an inch in thickness with salt and pepper and roll in flour. Slice two to- matoes, lay them on the fish, squeeze lemon juice over, dot with small pieces of butter, and place in a thoroughly buttered paper-bag. Seal up and cook for 15 minutes in a very hot oven. Herrings a la Russe.— Take four very fresh soft-roed herrings. Get the fishmonger 32 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY to bone them for you. In the center of each place a big teaspoonful of French mustard and a bit of butter. Dust lightly with black pepper and place in a well-buttered bag. Add to them half a wineglassful of hock or sherry and half a wineglassful of either shallot or tarragon vinegar as preferred. Cook for 15 to 18 minutes, according to the thickness of the fish, in a moderately hot oven. Dish up on a hot dish and serve with a beet salad. This is a most appetizing way of cook- ing herrings, but it must be done in the bag if it is to be done to perfection. For the dressing for the sliced beets allow two tablespoonfuls of tarragon vinegar to one of oil, and pepper and salt to taste. Fresh Herring.— Slit the fish on each side in a horizontal direction. Place on it a little mace, bay leaves, parsley, a small piece of onion, and some salt and pepper. Add two tablespoonfuls of vinegar. Place in the paper- bag, seal up, put on the broiler in a moderate oven for 20 minutes. Herrings can be treated in the same way, with or without butter. If boiling is pre- ferred, add a tablespoonful of water. To SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 33 broil fish of this kind, add butter or dripping only. Lobster a rAmericaine.— Cut a good- sized lobster crossways into seven slices. Re- move the soft part of the flesh, put it into a basin, and mix with it three large tablespoon- fuls of tomato sauce, two teaspoonfuls of brandy, and two tablespoonfuls of Madeira, a little chopped parsley and tarragon. Season with cayenne pepper and salt to taste. Add an ounce of melted butter and stir well. Mix with the sliced lobster, place in an oiled paper- bag, and cook for 12 minutes in a very hot oven. Red or Grey Mullet. — Take the fish with a half-tomato cut up, one mushroom, salt, pepper, a little lemon juice or vinegar, one teaspoonful of flour (this can be omitted if desired), a little chopped parsley, and a little butter. Place in the paper-bag, seal up, and allow 20 minutes in a moderate oven. Mackerel a la Napolitaine.— * Take two very fresh filleted mackerel, place a line of fresh tarragon leaves on each fillet. Dust with pepper and salt to taste. Butter a bag 34 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY thickly, put in the fillets of mackerel, and then on top of each pour gently a large tablespoon- ful of tomato catsup (the American variety gives the best results as it is far more deli- cately flavored than the English sort). Close the bag and cook for from i8 to 20-25 *^*^" uUs, according to the thickness of the fish. Turn out carefully, pour the sauce over them and send to table at once. If preferred, the quantity of sauce may be increased, but the above is quite sufiicient for the cooking process. Herrings, it may be noted, are equally good this way. In this case a very little minced chives may be added to the tarragon. Plaice (Sole, Flounder) JL la MeuniSre. — Filleted or whole fish can be used for this dish. Chop a small shallot, add a teaspoonf ul of anchovy paste or sauce, a squeeze of lemon juice, I oz. of butter, a little chopped parsley, salt and pepper, and a little cayenne. Place in a thoroughly buttered bag, dredge with flour, pour a tablespoonful of melted butter on top of the fish, seal up and cook. For 2 lbs. of whole fish, 30 minutes, and 8 minutes for the same weight filleted. SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 35 Sole Bourguigone.— Thoroughly butter a bag, place inside a well-trimmed sole or floun- der, add three small peeled, uncut onions, a bouquet garni, and a glass of claret. Mix a large teaspoonful of flour with an ounce of butter, place this mixture on the sole, seal up the bag, and cook for 20 minutes in a hot oven. Sole or Flounder, or Cod a la Comtesse. — Grease a bag thickly. Take 6 or 8 fillets of soles. Dust them lightly with salt and white pepper and squeeze a little lemon juice over each fillet. Put them in the bag and add to them an ounce of finely minced mushr rooms, half a heaped large teaspoonful of finely minced shallot or chives, a heaped large teaspoonful of minced parsley and a heaped dessertspoonful of freshly fried breadcrumbs, all mixed together. Add also half a wine- glassful of sherry mixed with the same amount of either good fish or ordinary stock. Close the bag and cook in a moderately hot oven for 18 to 20 minutes. Dish up. Pour the liquor and herbs, etc., over the fish and send to table at once. To make the fish stock put the bones and trimmings from the 36 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY fish in a clean small stewpan with a gill of water and a bit of turnip, carrot, onion and celery, all first well washed and sliced, and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain off and use. Whitebait.— Clean and dry i lb. of white- bait, and roll them in flour. Melt i oz. of butter, season with a little cayenne pepper, add a finely-chopped shallot, and a tablespoon- ful of vinegar. Sprinkle this mixture over the fish and place them in a well-buttered bag. Seal up and cook for 5 minutes in a very hot oven. Smelts Milanaise.— * Qean a dozen smelts, roll them in flour. Put i oz. of butter on a very hot dish and let it melt, roll the fish in this butter, sprinkle with a little cayenne pep- per and a little grated Parmesan, and place them side by side in a well-buttered paper- bag. Cover lightly with breadcrumbs, and pour a little tomato sauce over each smelt. Seal up and cook for 8 minutes in a very hot oven. Serve with slices of lemon. Salmon can be cooked with any kind of seasoning to taste. A whole slice will take 20 minutes in a hot oven; a 7 lb, sliced salmon will take 45 minutes. Mushroom, tomato, salt SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 37 and pepper, lemon juice, can be added as desired, and cooked in the paper-bag with the fish. For broiling or baking, dredge with a little fiour and a little butter, and put in a very hoi oven. Scallops.— Wash and drain half-a-dozen scallops, chop finely, and replace in the deep shell. Mince four mushrooms, add a chopped shallot, a little parsley, one chopped tomato, one teaspoonful of fiour, season to taste, and mix with lemon juice. Cover the scallops with the mixture, sprinkle with grated Par- mesan, a few breadcrtmibs, and dot over with small pieces of butter. Place in a bag, seal, and cook for 10 minutes in a very hot oven. Turbot or Flounder. — The whole fish (or part) can be done in the same way. A pound to a pound and a-half will take 20 minutes to cook. A turbot of 7 lbs. will take 45 minutes. It can be cooked with or without garnish, with butter or quite plain. Season your fish with salt and pepper and the juice of one lemon; but this can be omitted if desired. Place in the paper-bag, seal up, place on broiler, and put in hot oven. 38 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY Whitefish H la Normandc— Place two skinned whitefish in a buttered bag. Place half-a-dozen bearded oysters between them, and add half-a-dozen sliced mushrooms. Mix 2 ozs. of butter with a large teaspoonful of flour, add a few shelled shrimps and a little anchovy paste. Place on the whitefish. Pour in two tablespoonfuls of white wine. Seal up in bag and cook for 15 minutes. After placing the fish on a dish, squeeze a little lemon juice over it. Note. — Clean the mush- rooms first with a bit of flannel and a little salt. Whitefish Fines Herbes. — Take two whitefish of fair size, get the fishmonger to bone them. Fill the cavity with half-a-tea- spoonful of mixed finely minced chives or shallot and parsley, season to taste with salt and pepper and a tiny squeeze of lemon juice. Put into a well-greased bag, and bake for 15 minutes. Then dish up on a very hot dish, pour the liquor from the fish into the center of each, and serve at once. Haddock and fresh her- rings are also excellent when cooked in this way. SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 39 Trout It la Soyer. — Take a nice trout from J4 lb. to 2 lb. in weight. Clean and trim well. Then cut on each side about eight or ten incisions. Season well with salt and pepper, according to taste. Take 2 oz. of butter, half a teaspoonful of anchovy paste or sauce. Rub half a shallot on a cold plate and throw the shallot away. Mix a teaspoonful of flour with the btitter on the plate you have rubbed the shallot. Add a large teaspoonful of capers (if at hand). Place your trout in a well-but- tered paper-bag with all the ingredients. Have ready half a cucumber blanched in boil- ing water for 6 minutes and cut up in small dice. Also two medium-sized carrots cooked in boiling water, salt, ^ and a little sugar, cut small. Slice two large gherkins and 12 small, new cooked potatoes. Place all the above around the raw fish in the paper-bag, adding the juice of one lemon. Put one tablespoon- ful of melted butter over the vegetables, &c. Seal bag and place carefully on broiler. Al- low for one trout, J/^ lb., 20 minutes ; i lb., 25 minutes; ij4 lbs., 35 minutes; 2 lbs., 40 min- utes — in hot oven. Any fish can be cooked in the same way by shortening or adding to the garnishing of the 40 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY above recipe. Fresh mushrooms are always very welcome in cooking trout, salmon, turbot, sole, whitefish, halibut, eels, or any other kind of fish. This is a matter to be left to the taste of the cook. But never omit to mix up the flour with the cold fresh butter, to be laid well on the top of the fish. If you de- sire a sauce, put half a glass of claret with your fish in the paper-bag. Light White Fish,— Take any kind of light white fish. Roll in flour, then in a little milk, afterwards in breadcrumbs. Grease your paper-bag with butter, olive oil, or drip- ping. Put the fish in the bag and seal up. Place the bag on the broiler in a very hot oven, and allow 20 minutes or so, according to size. Season to taste before serving. ENTRIES Every kind of entree and small dish of that nature can be easily cooked by the paper-bag system, thereby retaining the dainty flavors and seasonings which should be a feature of such dishes. Among the entrees that follow will be found many stews, for which the gen- SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 41 tie and thorough cooking achieved by this system is eminently adapted. Mutton Cutlets.— Trim and roll in a little butter, salt and pepper. Put in a small paper- bag, seal up, and place on broiler. Allow 6 minutes in a very hot oven. Mutton Chop.— Treat in the same way as above. Allow 12 minutes in a very hot oven. Veal Chop. — Same as above. Allow 10 to 25 minutes in very hot oven, according to thick- ness of chop. Sausages. — Same as above. Allow 20 min- utes in very hot oven. Fillet of Beef.— Take a slice of ij^ ins. thick and well trimmed. Cut in two or three pieces horizontally. Trim a little, by paring off the corners, to make each piece round. Season with salt and pepper as desired. But- ter the paper-bag well, also the fillet of beef. Add garnishing — ^^as, for example, from 4 ozs. to 8 ozs. of either mushrooms, tomatoes, artichoke bottoms, olives, a little anchovy, spinach, cooked and rubbed through a colan- der, or any other kind fancy may suggest. 42 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY Place round the fillet; add one or two table- spoonfuls of any kind of sauce (this is purely a matter of taste). Put on broiler. Allow 10 to 15 minutes in very hot oven. A large fillet of beef or steak, plain or garnished, can be cooked in a buttered or greased paper-bag, but will require 15 to 20 minutes in very hot oven, according to size. It will turn out well broiled, with all the beau- tiful gravy retained. Escalop of Sweetbreads. — Trim sweet- bread and cut into four pieces. Trim four large mushrooms and tomatoes. Roll the sweetbread in flour, and put it between the mushrooms and tomatoes. Well butter your paper-bag, and arrange the above nicely in the middle. Place one teaspoonful of bread- crumbs on top. Cover with a slice of fat bacon or ham, cut very thin. Flavor with sweet herbs as desired. Seal bag, and put on broiler in hot oven. Allow 20 to 25 minutes. Sweetbread {Fancy Method), — Half a small onion, one slice of carrot, a little ham (fat and lean), and a little of the trimming, all cut into small dice. A small bunch of sweet herte and thyme, parsley and bay leaves. SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 43 Put these on the bottom of the paper-bag, which should be well buttered. Lard your sweetbread (if desired). Round it put three or four mushrooms, two or three tomatoes (skinned and all seeds removed). Add a tablespoonful of stock, Madeira, or sherry, according to taste. Seal bag. Put on broiler. Allow 25 minutes in hat oven. If color and thick sauce are desired, mix a quarter of a teaspoonful of arrowroot with the vegetable, and a little burnt-sugar color- ing. When you open the bag, remove the sweetbread gently. Place on dish. Remove tomatoes, mushrooms, etc., and place round it. Put the whole of the contents of the bag (juice included) in a strainer and press with a wooden spoon into a clean, hot basin standing in boiling water, then pour the gravy thus obtained over the sweetbread. Sweetbreads. — Blanch a very fresh sweet- bread by putting in a stewpan in cold water. Let it come slowly to the boil, but not quite to boil. Take the sweetbread from the stewpan and place at once in cold water. Turn a plate upside down, put the sweetbread on top, then put another plate, the right way up, on the top 44 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY of the sweetbread to obtain pressure. Place a weight on top, and leave it for 30 minutes or so. Then trim your sweetbread by remov- ing the external skin, etc. Lard it if desired, but this is not absolutely necessary. Put a very thin slice of larding bacon on both sides of the sweetbread. Season to taste. Then take a paper-bag and butter it at the bottom; place inside it the sweetbread with a little of the trimmings from the sweet- bread round it. Seal bag and put on broiler. Allow 20 minutes in hot oven. If a thick sauce is desired, roll the sweet- bread well in flour before cooking. For in- valids who do not wish any grease, put the juice in an odd dish and dust a little pepper on top. This will absorb all the fat, leaving the rich gravy. Curry of Beef, Veal, or Poultry.— Cut up the meat in small pieces, add two very finely chopped peeled onions, one teaspoonful of Madras curry paste or curry powder, one peeled and chopped apple, half a teaspoonful of sugar, a little lemon juice, a little bouquet of herbs tied up. Add one teaspoonful of flour, half a tumblerful of boiling milk, and a SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 45 banana and tomato if liked. Mix together. Place in the paper-bag and then on broiler at once. Allow 45 minutes in a hot oven. Rice to be boiled and served separately. Entree of Chicken. — Cut up a chicken in pieces, dust with salt and pepper. Add one tablespoonful of flour, tomato or mushroom (if desired), or a little tomato ketchup. Add a small chopped onion, according to taste, and a little bunch of bay leaf,, parsley, and thyme. Place all in the middle of the bag. Add three tablespoonfuls of water, stock, or wine, according to taste. A little chopped ham or bacon (if desired) will add to the flavor. Seal bag up and place on broiler, and allow 45 minutes in hot oven. Any other poultry treated in the same way will give the same satisfactory result The seasoning and garnish can be left to the taste of the cook. The viands will not spoil if left a little longer than 45 minutes. Veal and Ham Pie.— Make a paste in the ordinary way. Prepare the meat as usual, and put in the middle of the paste, which should be rolled to the thickness of about an eighth of an inch. Moisten the four corners^ 46 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY and fold to cover the meat Place in the paper-bag, seal up, put on broiler in a mod- erate oven. For a I lb. pie allow 45 minutes; 3 lbs,, i hour; 6 lbs., i^ hours; 10 lbs,, 2 hours. Hare or Rabbit (Roasted) .-» Stuff and truss a hare or rabbit in the ordinary way. Well sprinkle with flour, and rub with cream, butter, or dripping. Place in a paper-bag with seasoning (according to taste) in the usual way. Put on broiler in hot oven. Al- low 4S minutes. Stewed Rabbit. — Treat in the same way as the hare. It can be made most tender and palatable with only salt, pepper, and a little flour, and one chopped onion, three table- spoonfuls of water, and a little dripping. Place in a paper-bag. Allow 40 minutes in a hot oven. Stewed Hare. — Cut up the hare in pieces, place on dish, add salt and pepper to taste. Add an apple and a little fat bacon or ham if desired. As a substitute, two ounces of but- ter or a tablespoonful of lard will be equally satisfactory. One large finely chopped onion, bunch of sweet herbs (to taste), a large table- SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 47 spoonful of flour. Mix together. Add a quarter of a tumbler of water, stock, or wine, mix with the other ingredients, place all to- gether in a paper-bag, and lay on the broiler. Allow 45 minutes in a hot oven. Irish Stew. — Cut up two or three pounds of mutton in the ordinary way. Leave very little fat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add six large onions, peeled and finely chopped, and two pounds of peeled and thinly sliced medium sized potatoes, and bunch of sweet herb^. Place above in a bag, and add half a tumbler of cold water. Place on broiler in hot oven. Allow 40 minutes. Sheep's Kidneys, or any other kidney broil. Skin the kidney, split and place on skewer in the usual way. Season to taste, and add a little butter on top. Place in a well-buttered paper-bag and seal. Place on broiler in a very hot oven. Allow 5 minutes. Stewed Kidney of any kind except beef. Clean and cut up in several pieces, not too thin. Add salt and pepper to taste. For six kidneys add one teaspoonful of flour, or half a teaspoonful of arrowroot. Add a little chopped tomato and a few slices of mushroom. 48 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY Add any kind of sauce, also one teaspoonful of sherry or Madeira (if desired), one shallot, not cut, or a small piece of onion, not cut, and a little chopped parsley. Mix all care- fully on a plate. Butter or grease the paper- bag, seal up. Place on broiler in very hot oven. Allow 5 minutes. The oven must be very hot Remove onion or shallot before serving in a very hot dish. Beef, Veal, Pork, or Mutton, or any other meat can be treated by the same method. Cut up the meat in slices. Chop finely a small onion or shallot. Add any kind of to- mato sauce or ketchup, also a few herbs (tied together), according to taste. Add fresh to- matoes or mushroom (according to taste), salt and pepper. Place a little butter with the above in the paper-bag and one teaspoon- ful of flour. Mix together, and when bag is sealed up place on broiler in hot oven for 40 minutes, when it will be ready, and can be served in paper-bag, or dished up in the ordi- nary way. Curried Venison. — Cut up 3 lbs. of lean venison (mutton or beef can be used instead). Feel and chop three tomatoes, and add one SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 49 large tablespoonful of flour, three finely chopped onions, a large teaspoonful of Madras curry paste or curry powder, a teaspoonful of light brown sugar, a chopped apple, two large tablespoonfuls of well-washed rice, and a pint of milk. Place in a paper-bag, seal up, and cook in a moderate oven for 45 minutes. Fillet de Boeuf It la Mirande.— Take a pound and a-half of rump steak, and cut it into neat slices about three-eighths of an inch thick and two and a-hal^f inches long and broad. Dust each of these lightly with black pepper; melt an ounce of butter and skim it free from froth; add to it as much finely minced garlic as will go on the point of a very small knife. Lay the fillets in this, and let them steep for an hour, turning frequently (the dish must stand in a warm place or the butter will set). Then take out, put in a well-buttered bag and place on the broiler in the oven, leaving it to cook for half an-hour. Meanwhile, knead an ounce of flour with an ounce of butter, add to it by degrees half a pint of strong, well-flavored stock, place in a clean saucepan, and stir all one way until it is the consistency of cream ; then add to it so SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY half a pound of previously cooked mushrooms, the juice of half a lemon freed from seeds, a teaspoonful of China soy, and a couple of drops of anchovy essence. Make very hot. Pile up the mushrooms in the center of a hot entree dish, arrange the fillets round and garnish with a wall of mashed potatoes. Serve at once. Veal cutlet is also excellent cooked after this recipe, and so, too, is mutton steak. Croustades de Faisan i la Royale. — Take the remains of a cold roast pheasant; free it from skin and bone, and cut it into neat, small squares. Have ready a little well- flavored brown sauce — sauce Madere is ex- cellent for this purpose — add the pieces of pheasant to it, and make very hot in a well- greased bag. Have ready also half a dozen freshly fried croustades, and note that they should be very hot, too. Fill each with the above mixture, garnish with stoned olives which have been heated in a little sherry, and serve at once. The remains of a cold partridge are excel- lent heated in this fashion; so, too, is duck, but in this latter case a sauce piquante should SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 51 be used in place of brown or sauce Madere, as otherwise the croustade would be too rich for most people's liking. If a bag is used for this rechauffe it is impossible to tell it from freshly cooked game. Cutlets a la Paysanne.— • Take from four to eight cutlets, mutton or lamb. Trim them of all superfluous fat. Scrape the bones neatly. Dust them with a little minced shal- lot and spiced seasoning, i.e., pepper, salt and a tiny grate of nutmeg, and a little celery salt mixed. Grease a bag thickly. Put in the cutlets. Add to ithem half a pint of half- cooked peas, an ounce of bacon (flank will do), cut small, a pound of new potatoes, and half a pint of stock or water. Note. — If four cutlets only are used a gill of stock will be sufficient. Fold over the bag. Put on the broiler and cook in a moderately hot oven for an hour. Open bag. Empty out into a very hot dish. Arrange the peas and potatoes into a border with a heated fork. Stir up the gravy, and send to table. Note that the potatoes must be also parboiled before being put into the bag. For lamb cutlets jo minutes is sufficient time to allow^ 52 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY Cutlets ii rEspagnol.— Take four or six cutlets. Trim as directed in the foregoing recipe. Dust them with pepper and salt. Have ready a greased bag and 6 ozs. of freshly boiled rice. Mix with the rice plenty of to- mato catsup. Place the rice in the bag. Then put in the cutlets on top of the rice. Fold, clip, put on the broiler, and cook for half an hour in a moderately hot oven. Take out, dish up, and serve as hot as possible. If liked, the rice can be cooked with the cutlets ; in this case it must first be soaked all night and then allowed an hour and a quarter's slow cooking. Note. — Arrange the rice as a border and serve chipped potatoes separately. Cutlets i la St Cecile.— Take four lamb cutlets, from half a pint to a pint of par- boiled peas, and a pound of parboiled new potatoes. Grease two bags thickly. Put the peas and potatoes, together with ij4 oz. of butter, in one bag. Place on broiler and put into a moderately hot oven. Let them cook far 20 minutes before putting in the bag with the cutlets. Meanwhile, trim the cutlets very neatly. Free them from superfluous fat Flatten them well with a wooden mallet, and SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 53 spread them on both sides with a layer of foie gras. Have ready some freshly fried breadcrumbs. Sprinkle these lightly on each side of the cutlets. Take care not to overdo this. Place gently in a D size bag. Fold, clip, place on broiler in the oven. Cook for 20 minutes. Dish up the peas and potatoes as a border. Put the cutlets in the middle. Pour their own gravy over them and serve at once. Cutlets aux Navettes.^- Take half a bunch of young French turnips, peel them, trim them all as nearly as possible to one size. Dust them with salt and pepper. Take a pound and a half of mutton cutlets. Trim as above directed. Dust well with celery salt and a very little white pepper, and some salted flour. Grease a bag well. Put in half the turnips, then the cutlets, then the rest of the turnips. Add half a pint of chicken stock. Fold the bag, clip ; place on the broiler and cook slowly for an hour and a half. Dish up on a hot dish, with the turnips as a border. Pour the sauce — which will be of a delicate creamy consistency and taste — over, and serve with asparagus, handed separately. 54 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY This dish should be selected when there has been roast fowl the day before, as the stock can be made from the cooked carcass of the fowl, as follows : — Break up the carcass into small pieces. Add any pieces of skin re- maining, an onion stuck with a clove, a tiny bit of mace, and a good-sized sprig of well- washed parsley. Add rather more than half a pint of water. Bring to the boil, then sim- mer very slowly, and do not let it boil away or reduce at all for three-quarters of an hour. Strain off. Add salt to taste, and use as di- rected in the above recipe. Cutlets in a Hurry. — Take four cutlets. Trim them well. Dust them lightly with salt and pepper. If no cooked peas are to hand, take a bottle (not tin) of peas, free them from the preserving liquor, and wash well in cold water. Take a liberal quantity of to- mato catsup. Pour it into a well-greased bag. Add the peas, and cook for 15 minutes in a hot oven. Meanwhile take another greased bag. Put into it a slice of fat bacon, a few chicken livers and the cutlets. Fold and cook all together for 20 minutes. Dish up the cut- lets on a very hot dish. Arrange the chicken SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 55 livers on top of the cutlets ; put the peas and tomato round as a border, and send to table at once. Note. — The bacon, which is only- used as a flavoring agent, must not be sent to table. I have found that any butcher will be glad to supply the chicken liver at a min- ute's notice. Cutlets k rindienne. — For those who like hot things the following may be recommended : — Take a teaspoonful of salted flour, mix with it thoroughly a heaped large teaspoonful of good curry powder — two if liked. Grease a bag very thoroughly. Have ready from four to six cutlets trimmed as directed be- fore. Dust these with the flour. Put them into the bag, and add to them a heaped des- sertspoonful of finely chopped spring onions and half a pint of chicken or other well- flavored stock. Fold and cook gently for three-quarters of an hour. Dish up on hot dish. Stir the sauce round well and serve. If liked, the flour and curry powder can be mixed with the cold stock instead of being dusted on to the cutlets. Water will do when stock is not to hand, but in this case add a little more salt. •* . S6 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY Cutlets for the Nursery. — Every mother is aware of the nourishing properties of bar- ley, but not every child can be got to take the barley in the shape of porridge. The ap- pended recipe solves the difficulty by giving the barley at dinner instead of at breakfast time. Soak 4 oz. thoroughly washed pearl barley for 24 hours. Have ready a well greased bag, six small peeled whole onions (select those about the size of a small Tan- gerine) and the requisite number of cutlets. Free the cutlets from all but the smallest quantity of fat, dust them with salt, place them in the* bag. Add to them the onions and the barley, salt to taste, and if any of the water in which the latter was soaked re- mains, add this also. If not, add half a pint of chicken stock prepared as before indi- cated. Fold and clip the bag. Place on broiler, and cook gently in an only moderately hot oven for an hour and a half. Empty out on to a dish and serve. Veal can also be cooked in this way, and for invalids the dish can be most highly recommended, as it con- tains nothing to upset even the most delicate digestion. SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 57 Economical Stew. — Grease the bag well. Wash lyi lbs. of fresh pieces of mutton well. Dust them thickly with salted barley flour and slightly with pepper. Peel and slice i lb. of onions and 2 lbs. of potatoes thinly. Wash them well. Put them wet into the bag with the meat in layers. Then add about half-a- pint of water. Put the bag on the broiler. Cook slowly for 2 hours. Dish up on a hot dish, and stir round well. Chicken, Game, etc., broiled quickly. — Split the chicken down the middle. Well open. Pass two skewers longways to prevent the chicken from curling. Take and break one very fresh egg. Beat well. Add to it a little salt and black pepper, one ounce of melted butter, one teaspoonful of Worcester or other sauce, and one teaspoonful of mixed mustard. Mix together. With a brush glaze the whole chicken with the mixture. Then place the breadcrumbs all round. Butter the bag well all over the inside. Place chicken in it. Seal up, and place on the broiler. Be very careful not to tear the bag with the skewers. Allow 55 to 40 minutes in a hot oven. 58 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY Salmi de Caneton. — ^Take a cold roast duck and joint it neatly. Place the carcass, giblets, bones, etc., in a clean, enamelled iron stewpan ; add to them a couple of sage leaves or a little powdered sage, a large onion stuck with a clove, a pinch of powdered sweet herbs, and half-a-pint of stock. Bring to the boil, skim carefully, and then draw the pan to the side of the fire and simmer very slowly until the goodness is fairly extracted. Then strain through a hair sieve into a clean saucepan, place on the fire, and reduce about one-third. Add salt and pepper to taste, the peel from half-a-dozen French olives, and half a glass of port. Meanwhile grease a bag thickly, place in it the joints of the duck, and cook for lo min- utes. Remove the bag from the oven and pour the gravy in. Close the bag and make it very hot for 10 minutes. Then dish up on a hot salmi dish and serve, garnished with fried croutons and accom- panied by chipped or straw potatoes. Any kind of game may also be rechauffed after this recipe. SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 59 POULTRY Roast Chicken. — Cover the breast of the fowl or chicken with butter or dripping, or better still, tie a piece of fat bacon over it. Place in bag, and set on broiler in a hot oven. Allow 25 minutes for a small spring chicken; 35 minutes for a large fowl; 45 to 50 minutes (according to size) for stuffed poultry or game in a moderate oven. Boiled Fowl.— -Place the fowl (or other poultry) ready trussed, in a paper-bag. Put a little bacon or fat ham on the breast. Place in bag one small chopped carrot, one onion, one clove, a little sweet herb, celery (if de- sired), salt, and pepper, according to taste. Add 154 tumblers of water. Seal up bag. Tie a piece of string round the neck of the bag to prevent the water running out. Allow 45 to 60 minutes in a moderate oven. Boiled Turkey. — Same as above. Allow I hour and 45 minutes. If stuffed, allow 2 hours and 30 minutes. Tough Old Fowl. — This can be sent tender to the table if treated as follows: — Clean, 6o SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY truss and stuff according to taste. Put five spoonfuk of dripping or butter upon the breast. Place in the paper bag. Allow i hour and 45 minutes to 2 hours and a half, accord- ing to the size of the bird in question, in a moderate oven. The old rooster will appear on the table like a spring chicken, more serv- iceable than has ever been known in the his- tory of cooking. Turkey or Goose.-^ Allow 1% hours in moderate oven; if stuffed allow i hour and 43 minutes to 2 hours, according to size. Pigeon.— Requires very delicate cooking. My method cooks a pigeon to perfection, whether it is stuffed or not. To roast allow 15 minutes in a very hot oven; if stuffed, allow 20 to 25 minutes. Roast Quail.— Truss and lard the quail in the usual way. Place in bag. Seal up and put on broiler. Allow 8 minutes in a very hot oven. It must be cooked quickly. If no lard or fat is used, a little melted butter will do just as well. Chicken Bruxelloise. — Cut a chicken into small pieces, add a finely-chopped leek, a SOYER'S PAPER-BAC COOKERY ^i chopped onion, a large tablespoonful of flour, seasoned to taste, half a pint of milk, and a small bouquet garni. Mix well and place in the bag. Cook for 45 minutes. Aylesbury Duckling with Turnips. — Thoroughly butter a paper-bag, place the duck- ling inside, cut a few slices of carrot and turnip into fancy shapes, cut up a few blanched spring onions and add with a bou- quet garni. Pour in three tablespoonfuls of tomato sauce, and a wineglassful of Madeira. Season with salt and pepper according to taste. Cook for 45 to 55 minutes, according to size of bird. Chicken It la Reine. — Take a fowl, trussed as if for boiling, and rub it well over with a split onion. Place it in a well-greased bag, and add" to it a gill of good stock. Add also a sprig of parsley, a bay leaf, a sprig of sweet herbs, and, if obtainable, two or three spring onions, all tied together. Take four ounces of well-cooked rice and add it to the fowl. Place the bag on the broiler; simmer very slowly in a moderate oven until the fowl is cooked. Then dish up the fowl on a hot dish; remove the herbs, etc., and empty the 62 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY rice into a fresh bag. Add to it a tablespoon- ful of stock, a gill of cream, a little grated lemon peel, a dust of nutmeg, and pepper and salt to taste ; mix thoroughly. Add the well- beaten yolk of an egg ; make hot again on the broiler and serve at once. Turkey and a fillet of veal are both excel- lent if cooked after this recipe. Chicken 2t TAmericaine. — Joint a spring chicken neatly (first singeing it carefully), then dust each joint lightly with black pepper and place in a marinade for an hour, turning it frequently. Have ready a light frying bat- ter, wipe the joints on a clean meat cloth, then dip each into the batter. Grease a bag very thickly and put into it the chicken, place it on the broiler in the oven, and cook for about three-quarters of an hour. Then take it out of the bag, drain it carefully, dust lightly with salt and a very little cayenne pepper and serve it quickly and hot. A lentil salad should accompany chicken cooked after this fashion. Chicken \ la Marseilles.— Bone a large fowl (or the butcher will do this for you) and cut it into ten or twelve neat fillets; reserve SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 63 the giblets, back, liver, bones, etc. Place an ounce of either fresh butter or clarified beef dripping in a clean enamelled iron stew-pan; as soon as it oils add the giblets, etc., together with a small onion stuck with a clove, and notched, in order to allow the juice to escape, a dozen peppercorns, a bay leaf, a tiny bit of mace, a carrot peeled and sliced, a turnip peeled and cut into neat pieces, a: bit of celery, or else a good pinch of celery-salt, and a pinch of sugar. Fry for 10 or 12 minutes, and then add half-a-pint or more of well-flavored stock; bring gently to the boil; next draw the pan to the side of the fire and simmer very gently, taking care that the stock does not reduce. Have ready a turnip and a carrot cut into tiny stars ; tie all these up in a bit of muslin and set them to cook in the stock. When the latter is thoroughly strong and all the goodness has been extracted from the gib- lets, etc., strain off the stock into a well- greased bag, add to it pepper and salt to taste and the fillets of fowl, and let the contents of the bag simmer slowly until the fillets are thoroughly cooked, say about 45 minutes. Then dish up on a hot dish, and garnish with the vegetable Stars ; thicken the liquor in which 64 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY the fillets were cooked with an ounce of brown roux, or, failing this, with half an ounce of 'flour and half an ounce of butter kneaded to- gether; add to it four ounces of previously cooked mushrooms, make very hot, and pour over and arotmd the fillets of fowl; garnish the outer edge with a border of crisply-fried croutons, and serve as quickly as possible. A wineglassful of sherry or Marsala is an im- provement to this sauce. Chicken aux Olives. — Take a chicken trussed as if for boiling; dust it lightly with spiced pepper, and reserve on a plate till needed; place two ounces of fresh butter or half a gill of oil, whichever is most convenient, in a large bag, add a tiny bit of garlic, notched in order to allow the juice to escape, a large tablespoonful of breadcrumbs, and the chicken ; place the bag on the broiler in the oven and cook for half an hour. Then remove the bird to a hot dish, having drained it carefully as directed. Pour off all the grease from the re- maining breadcrumbs and remove the garlic. Put the residue of the gravy in a clean bag with an ounce of gelatine, a teaspoonful of lemon juice, a heaped teaspoonful of red cur- SOYER^S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 65 rant jelly and a large spoonful of good stock or gravy. Fold and make very hot, then open the bag and add a dozen olives farcies. Make hot on the broiler for 5 minutes. Pour over the chicken and garnish with straw potatoes, or, if liked, spinach. If the basting and draining are carefully attended to, this dish is bound to be a success; but if the slightest portion of grease is allowed to re- main behind, the flavor will be spoilt. Pheasant is excellent treated in this way, and so, too, is partridge. ROAST Sirloin, Ribs, or Rotmd of Beef. — Well grease with dripping (but this is not abso- lutely necessary). Put the joint in a bag. Do not season the joint before cooking. Put the joint on a broiler in a moderate oven. For a 3 lb. joint allow 45 minutes ; 7 lb., i hour and 20 minutes; 14 lb., 2 hours and 15 minutes; 20 lb., 3 hours. r Veal, Mutton, or Pork can be cooked in the same way as beef. If a thick gravy is required roll the joint in flour before placing 66 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY it in the paper-bag. Allow the same time as for beef. Venison. — Trim the joint of all skin and nerves. Roll in flour, cover the joint with fat ham, bacon, or dripping. Well season, ac- cording to taste ; add two glasses of port wine (if desired). Seal joint in bag; allow plenty of space in the oven. Allow for joint of 3 lb., ij4 hours; 7 lb., 2j4 hours; 14 or 15 lb., 4 hours. This must be cooked in a moderate oven. Venison Sauce.— The natural juice from the cooking is strained into a stew-pan. Take off all fatty matter. It can be thickened with a little flour, cornstarch, or arrowroot, by mixing a teaspoonful of either with one glass of port wine, sherry, Madeira, stock, or water. Mix up with the juice. Bring to the boil, add lemon juice or any condiment, according to taste. VEGETABLES If there is one article of our diet which more than any other benefits by cooking in paper-bags it is the vegetables. SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY (fj Hitherto the vegetables of the ordinary cook have been a byword for all that is tasteless and unappetizing, and thus they have been robbed of the popularity to which their food- value entitles them. Vegetarian and meat- eater alike know and regret that by ordinary methods of cooking much that is best in vege- tables, both for llie palate and the health, are boiled out into the water and thrown away. Medical men tell us how valuable are the salts and other constituents of vegetables thus wasted. Little medicine would be needed if we included in our diet these juices, which form the choice flavor of the vegetables. Up to the present we have thrown Nature's physic to the dogs — or, at any rate, down the kitchen sink. But with the vegetables cooked in bags nothing is lost. All the food-value and all the flavor are retained. The cooking is easier, without smell, and the result will be to place vegetables in that honored place which they should occupy on every well-served table. This is a matter which the ordinary house- holder and the " Food Reformer " alike have at heart. JS8 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY Asparagus. — Trim and clean the asparagus in the usual way. Tie up, and put in the paper- bag. Add a quarter of a tumbler of water, a little salt, and place on the broiler. Allow 35 ^^ 45 wmw^^j in a hot oven. Lima Beans. — Take a quart of Lima beans, add two ounces of butter, four ounces of diced ham, a little sugar and salt, a good teaspoonful of flour, and a few sweet herbs to taste. Put in a bag with half-a-pint of water and cook for 60 minutes in a moderate oven. • Vegetable Marrow. — Peel and halve lengthways two or three vegetable marrows, remove the seeds, blanch for three minutes and drain well. Chop up some cold meat or poultry left from a previous meal, season to taste, add a small chopped shallot or onion, a tablespoonful of flour, a little Worcester sauce, two small halved tomatoes, and an equal quantity of mushrooms peeled and chopped. Blend with two tablespoonfuls of stock or gravy, mix well, stuff the marrow with the mixture, place in a well-buttered paper-bag, and bake for 55 to 50 minutes. SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 69 Mushrooms. — Peel the mushrooms and wash them well. Then cook in the same way as tomatoes, and allow the same time. Peas, Plainly Boiled. — Put a pint of freshly-shelled peas, a spring of mint, and half- a-pint of water into a paper, seal up, and cook for J5 to 45 minutes. Peas. — Put a pint of freshly-shelled green peas in a basin, add a teaspoonful of sugar, an ounce of butter, a teaspoonful of flour, a little salt, a chopped lettuce, a small bouquet garni, and half-a-pint of water. Mix together, place in a bag, and cook for jo minutes in a mod- erate oven. New Potatoes.— Peel, halve and put suffi- cient in paper-bag for three persons with three tablespoonfuls of cold water. Add one leaf of mint, and a little salt. Seal up bag. Place gently on the broiler. Allow 30 to 35 minutes in hot oven. All potatoes should be cut in two. Baked Potatoes.-— Thoroughly wash twelve good-sized potatoes. Make a few small slits in them but do not peel. Place in a paper- 70 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY bag with one tablespoonful of water. Cook for S5 to so minutes, according to size. Potatoes Chateau.— Peel and blanch two dozen small potatoes and drain well. Put them in a bag and add two ounces of butter. Seal up and bake in a very hot oven for 55 minutes. Place on a very hot dish, season to taste and serve. Potatoes Paysanne. — Cut half-a-dozen good-sized peeled potatoes into large dice ; par- boil for a minute or so. Place in a paper- bag and add a chopped onion, four ounces of ham finely diced, and two ounces of butter. Seal up and bake for jo minutes. Potatoes Maitre d'Hotel. — Cut up six cold boiled potatoes, place in a well-buttered bag, add half a glass of milk, salt and pepper, an ounce of butter, a little chopped parsley, and grated nutmeg. Cook for 15 minutes. Spinach. — Pick over and thoroughly wash two pounds of spinach ; leave the vegetable as wet as you can, and put in a bag. Add a little sugar and a pinch of salt. Seal bag, and cook for 55 minutes. Then stand the broiler bear- ing the bag on a large plate, and prick the SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY ^l bottom of the bag in such a way as to allow all the water to run out. Dish up^ add a small piece of butter, and serve. Tomatoes. — Place six tomatoes in boiling water. Allow 25 seconds, and take out to- matoes. You will find they will skin easily. Butter your paper-bag. Place salt, pepper, a suspicion of sugar, and a small piece of butter in the bag, and put on broiler. Allow 12 minutes in hot oven. SAVORIES Filleted Devilled Herring on Toast. — Fillet the herring in the usual way. Butter some toast. Place fillet on top and cut to any shape you may fancy. Put a little grated cheese, cayenne pepper or black pepper, a pinch of breadcrumbs, and a little butter. Put in the paper-bag and place on broiler. Allow 5 minutes in very hot oven. Fish Roe a la Soyer. — Place half the roe on top of a piece of buttered toast, put a good peeled mushroom on top, add salt and pepper to taste, and a little piece of butter. 72 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY Place the other half of the roe on top of the mushroom, add a little cayenne pepper, a pinch of grated cheese (Parmesan or any other kind), a few breadcrumbs and another piece of butter. Place in paper-bag, seal up, and place on broiler. Allow lo minutes in hot oven. Any Savory made with Cheese and Cream. — Put a little flaked cold fish with a sprinkling of Parmesan mixed with a little cream on a slice of well-buttered toast. Place in bag and cook 6 minutes in a very hot oven. Savory of Lobster.— Cut a small lobster from head to tail. Cut flesh into small dice. Put in small stew-pan with one tablespoonful of white sauce, one tablespoonful of cream; add salt and cayenne or other pepper to taste, and one teaspoonful of grated Parmesan. Mix up well, and place in the cavity of the shells. Put a little grated Parmesan cheese on top, and a little breadcrumbs and butter. Put in a paper-bag. Place on the broiler. Allow 10 minutes in hot oven. Crab and Crayfish can be treated in the same way, with a like excellent result. SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 73 Savory Oysters. — Take two tablespoon- fuls of white sauce, one teaspoonful of grated Parmesan cheese, one tablespoonful of cream, the liquor from the oysters and seasoning to taste. Take half a dozen deep oyster shells. Put a little of the above mixture at the bot- tom; then put the raw bearded oyster in the middle. Add a little more of the sauce on the top, with a little breadcrumbs and a small piece of butter. Place your bag on the broiler. Put your oysters carefully inside. Seal up, and allow 8 mnutes in a very hot oven. Cheese Biscuit.^ — Take 4 oz. of flour, 3 oz. of butter, i yolk of egg, 3 tablespoonfuls of cream, i oz. of grated Parmesan cheese, 3 tablespoonfuls of water, and a pinch of cay- enne pepper. Mix up gently and form a paste. Roll to the thickness of an ordinary biscuit, and cut to any shape. Place in paper- bag, arranged so as not to touch each other. Allow 10 to 12 minutes in hot oven. This biscuit will keep for months in a dry place, and with it any kind of savory can be served. / 74 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY SWEETS Pastry, cakes, and sweets generally are wonderfully improved by being cooked in paper-bags. The concentration of heat which is thus gained has the effect of making puff paste lighter and more regular in texture, and all cake mixtures "rise" in a manner that the open oven cannot produce. Then again, the cooking takes much less time, and I need not point out the value of this. In the old style the oven door had fre- quently to be opened to watch progress. The pastry was thus exposed to draughts of cool air, which could not but produce " doughy," heavy and unsatisfactory results. Puff -Paste.— Take i lb. of flour, ^ lb. of butter. Mix the flour with water and salt lightly until the consistency of butter. Leave this dough for half-an-hour, then flatten with your hand and lay your butter on the top of the paste. Then, fold four-corner way, and give it two rolls, as usual. Leave your paste in a cool place for 45 minutes, and then roll twice more. Leave it for 45 minutes and then rbll twice agiala. Fhfcfe it in a la'rg'e paper- SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 75 bag which will not touch the paste. Put on broiler ^nd^allow 20 minutes in hot oven. Tart in a Pie-Dish. — Place in a paper-bag well sealed. Put on the broiler. Allow 35 to 45 minutes, but use previously cooked fruit. Sausage Rolls, or any other pastry, can be cooked by the same method. The fatty mat- ter inside the pastry (by the paper-bag method) helps by the even heat to keep the paste light and, consequently, perfect. Allow 20 to 25 minutes, according to size, in hot oven. Apple Dumpling. — Make in the usual way. Cook in the paper-bag. Allow 20 minutes in hot oven. Bananas, Apples, or other Cooking Fruit. — Put fruit in the paper-bag, with or without butter or jam. Flavor to taste. Add sugar if desired. Bake 20 minutes in hot oven. Scone— Any kind of scone or breakfast rolls should be placed in large loose greased bags in hot oven. Allow 10 to 15 minutes, according to size. Genoise Paste.— Take 6 oz. of flour and sift it on a sheet of paper, then ^. lb. of 76 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY powdered castor sugar, 5 oz. of butter, melted, but not hot. Break 6 eggs in a basin, and place the basin in some boiling water in a separate pan placed over gentle heat. Beat the eggs and butter for 20 minutes or so with an egg-beater to a nice consistency. Take the basin off the fire, and beat the contents a little again. Add flour and butter, mix lightly with wooden spoon, but not to stir it up to a cream. Flavor according to taste. Take any kind of mold or tin you like, well butter it, and dredge with castor sugar. Three parts fill it with the paste and place in the paper- bag. Allow J5 minutes in a moderate oven. Any Kind of Cake — plain, madeira, sul- tana, raisin, etc. — can be cooked in the loose paper-bag, on broiler, in fairly hot oven. Al- low J}i hours, according to size. Petit Nid. — Peel and core half-a-dozen cooking apples. Empty a gill, a liberal quan- tity of fruit syrup (for preference pineapple) into a thickly-buttered bag. Add the apples, seal bag, and place on broiler, simmer very gently until cooked, but take care that they do not get broken. Line a paper souffle case with puff paste, place carefully in a well- SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY ^^ greased bag, put the apples in this, and twist long strips of citron and angelica round them. Place 4 oz. of butter in a clean basin, sift in 8 oz. of sugar, and whip to a cream. Then add the well-beaten yolks of four eggs, and season to taste with grated nutmeg. Place on the fire, and stir gently until very hot, then add the whites of the eggs whipped to a stiff froth. Stir these in lightly, then pour over the apples ; place in the bag, put it in the oven without loss of time, and bake to a golden hue. Dust thickly with powdered sugar, and serve either hot or cold. Plenty of citron or angelica must be used to give the idea of a nest. Apples \ la Duchesse. — Take from eight to ten large apples ; wash and dry them. Then core with a proper apple-corer. Place a bit of cinnamon stick in each apple, and pour over them a tablespoonful of rum. Place them in a buttered bag and bake on a broiler. When quite done remove the cinnamon and fill the^ center of each apple with a little straw- berry, raspberry, or apricot jam. Cover the whole with very stiffly-whipped cream. Orna- ment with chopped pistachio nuts and pine 78 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY kernels, and serve at once, or leave upon ice Till needed. Sweet, not sour, apples should be selected. They should be placed on a clean dish and allowed to cool before the jam and cream are added. Pudding k la Munich. — Take some slices of stale French bread, and toast to a light crisp brown; then spread thickly first with butter and then with golden syrup. Place a layer of golden syrup in a well-greased paper souffle dish, sprinkle it with washed and dried chopped currants, chopped sultanas, a little chopped lemon peel, and a very little grated nutmeg or allspice. Put a layer of the toast, then currants, sultanas, peel, and spice, and repeat the layers until the dish is full. Make a custard with half a pint of milk, the well- beaten yolk of an egg, and a tablespoonful of powdered sugar. Pour over the whole, and leave for fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, whip the white of the egg to a stiff froth, with a few drops of lemon juice; add a little pow- dered sugar, and pile high on top of the pud- ding. Put in a well-buttered bag, bake to a golden brown for 30 minutes and serve. The meringue mixture may be omitted, and the SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 79 custard made with the whole egg. In that case bake the pudding for 55 minutes. Dust some powdered sugar over, and serve. Pudding i la Mayence.*- Rub half-a-pint of breadcrumbs through a fine wire sieve, add a tumblerful of any wine and water, the grated rind of a small lemon, first washed and dried, three heaped-up tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, and i oz. of butter. Mix all together, and then pour the mixture into a buttered soufHe dish. Add the well-beaten yolks of two eggs, and the juice of a small lemon care- fully strained. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, with a pinch of salt and pow- dered sugar to taste; color to a pale green with a few drops of spinach greening, or pale pink with a little carmine coloring or cochi- neal. Pile up on top, place in the bag, put into a very moderate oven, and bake till the meringue is firmly set. Pudding a la Baronne. — Take half a pound of well-washed, dried, and picked cur- rants, half a pound of sultana raisins, half a pound of breadcrumbs, an ounce of chopped citron, and four heaped teaspoonfuls of golden sytup. Mix all well tbgcJther, thien ardd an 8o SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY ounce of self-raising flour and the well-beaten yolks of two eggs mixed with a pint of milk. Beat all well together, and finally add the whites of the eggs, whipped to a firm froth. Fill with this a well-greased paper souffle dish, place carefully in bag, and bake in oven for an hour and a half. Turn out carefully and serve with a little heated golden syrup poured over and around it. Beignets k la Portugaise.— Well wash 6 oz. of Caroline rice and place it in a clean stewpan, and add 4 oz. of powdered sugar, 2 oz. of butter, half a stick of cinnamon, and a strip of lemon peel, or a very little grated rind of lemon. Allow the butter to melt, shaking the pan to avoid burning, and then add a pint of milk. Cover closely, and bring gently to the boil. Then draw the pan to the side of the fire, and simmer slowly for rather more than a quarter of an hour, when the rice should have absorbed all the milk and be per- fectly tender. Withdraw the pan from the fire, and allow the mixture to cool a little. Then add the well-beaten yolks of three eggs, and finally the whites whisked to a firm froth with a tiny pinch of salt and a very little a< SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 8i lemon juice. Mix lightly but very thoroughly, y and then form into balls about the size of a ^ small Tangerine. Make an aperture in each A as carefully as possible and insert a small spoonful of either apricot jam or marmalade in the middle; close up neatly, then dip in egg and breadcrumbs. Have ready a well- greased bag, put the beignets in, and cook for IS minutes. Take out and serve at once. Pommes k la Mascotte.— - Take a dozen large apples, as nearly of a size as possible. Peel very thinly, and remove the cores with -; an apple corer. Roll the apples in well-beaten egg and then in plenty of confectioner's sugar. (AdcL^few drops of vanilla to the beaten ^ ; ^SS') Arrange the apples neatly in a well- -- -^ greased paper souffle case, put it into a bag, and bake for half an hour in a moderately hot oven. When done, fill the centre of each with some strained apricot jam. Pour a little apri- cot sauce round the base and serve at once. For the sauce, place three tablespoonfuls of strained apricot jam in a small clean stew-pan. Make very hot, then stir in well-whipped cream, and use as directed. 'J^ s ^-'' COLD MEAT COOKERY, Cannelon a la Royale. — Take a pound of cold roast veal, free it from skin and fat, etc., and pass it through a mincing machine twice. Add to it 6 ozs. of cooked ham, fat and lean together, also minced. Mix ; then add pepper and salt to taste, a teaspoonful of minced parsley, a teaspoon half full of minced shallot, a little grated lemon peel, and a dust of nut- meg. Mix again. Add the well-beaten yolks and whites of two eggs; shape into a roll, wrap up in a piece of clean well-greased Soyer paper, place in bag, and cook for 25 minutes. Take out of bag very carefully, unroll, dish upon a hot dish, and serve with Portugaise sauce. For the sauce, rub a pound of ripe toma- toes through a hair sieve. Place the pulp thus obtained in a clean enameled iron saucepan. Add to it pepper and salt to taste, a teaspoon- ful of powdered sugar, a dessertspoonful of vinegar, a teaspoonful of onion juice, or else as much chopped garlic as will go on the point 82 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 83 of a very small knife. Make very hot and allow it to reduce — i.e., boil away a little — then use. Half a wineglassful of cooking port is an immense improvement to the above sauce ; so, too, is a bit of butter about the size of a walnut. Roulade de Boeuf a la Napolitaine. — Take a pound of cold roast beef, free it from skin and fat, etc., and pass it through the mincing machine. Add to it 6 oz. of finely minced (cooked) ham or bacon, fat and lean together. Season highly with pepper and salt. Add a teaspoonful of finely minced olives, a few drops of tabasco, a teaspoonful of minced parsley, a little grated lemon peel, and a dust of nutmeg. Mix all together; then add to it 4 oz. of previously cooked macaroni which has been cut into i in. lengths and tossed in a little butter. Mix again. Add the well- beaten yolks of two eggs, and finally the whites whipped to a stiff froth. Mix thor- oughly ; roll up in a piece of clean well-greased paper, place in the bag, fold and clip, put on the broiler, and bake in a moderate oven for 25 minutes. Serve with the same sauce as in the foregoing recipe. 84 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY Mouton Grille ^ I'lndienne. — Underdone mutton for which no other use can be found may be turned into a very nice broil as fol- lows : Cut a sufficient number of slices from a leg of mutton, and cut into rounds or squares. Melt a piece of butter about the size of a large walnut on a plate in the oven. Add to it a teaspoonful of Harvey's Sauce, and salt to taste. Mix thoroughly, and leave the slices of mutton in the mixture for at least an hour before they are required. Have ready a number of fried croutons, allowing one to each piece of mutton; place the lat- ter on these, put them in a well-greased paper- bag. Put bag on broiler, cook for 8 minutes and serve at once, accompanied by Portugaise sauce — passed separately — and mashed po- tatoes. Instructions for Portugaise sauce is given in the first recipe. Beef and veal, but more especially the former, are also excellent, treated after the foregoing fashion. Horseradish sauce should be served with these in place of sauce Portu- gaise. Cold Fish.— Take of3f all flesh from the fish bones. Mash up a few potatoes. Season SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 85 to taste. Grease paper-bag. Place mashed potatoes at the bottom, flat. Put one tea- spoonful of flour on the top of the fish, three tablespoonfuls of milk, salt and pepper, a lit- tle chopped parsley (if desired), anchovy or other sauce. Mix together. Place the mix- ture on top of the potato and put in the bag. Seal up, and place on the broiler. Allow 15 minutes in a hot oven. Cold Meat or Poultry can be done the same way, but omit milk, and substitute the same quantity of water or stock, and add an onion or shallot (not cut up). BREAKFAST DISHES The following breakfast dishes will form a pleasant variation in the ordinary bill of fare for the morning meal. Eggs aux Tomates.-— Butter a bag thickly. Put into it half a pint of thick tomato catsup and a lump of butter the size of a walnut. Cook in a hot oven for lo minutes. Cut a square from the center of the bag and break in one by one four eggs. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Dish up. Cut away the top of the bag only and serve at once. Eggs Si la Bechamel.— -* Boil four eggs hard. Throw them into cold water. Shell them^ cut each in halves. Grease a bag thickly. Put in the eggs. Add a gill of cream, pepper and salt to taste, and a tiny dust of powdered mace. M(ike hot gently for 5 minutes, and serve on squares of lightly buttered toast. Merluche fume \ la Milanaise.— Take a pound of filletted dried haddock. Dust lightly 86 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 87 with black pepper. Grease a bag. Put in the fillets of haddock. Pour over them the con- tents of half a pint of tomato catsup. Cook for 18 minutes; dish upon a very hot dish, and SQrve with plenty of well-buttered toast passed separately. Kippered Mackerel Fines Herbes. — Place the fillets of mackerel in a deep, clean dish. Just cover them with boiling water. Leave for an" instant. Take out and dry. Dust well with coarse black pepper and put on top of each fillet half a teaspoonful of minced chives and parsley (or finely-minced onion failing chives) and a bit of butter the size of a small walnut. Grease a bag, put in the fil- lets, and cook for 20 minutes in a hot oven. Take out and serve with brown bread and butter. Marechale de Homard aux CEufs. — Take the white and claw meat of the lobster. Chop it up small and reserve it. Take the brown meat and rub it till quite smooth in a basin with a bit of butter and a good dust of white pepper. Then add by degrees the contents of half a bottle of tomato catsup. Work the whole well together. Put into a bag four 88 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY slices of bacon. Cook for 4 minutes. Then take out the sHces and reserve them on a hot dish. Put in the lobster and tomato mixture and cook for 8 minutes. Now cut open the bag, put in the white meat, and make hot for another 4 or 5 minutes. Be careful to lower the gas for this, as the white meat of the lob- ster must only get very hot. It must not actually cook, or it will toughen and be spoilt. Empty out carefully into a very hot dish. Garnish with the slices of bacon and serve at once. *. Mar6chale of Crab is prepared in exactly the same way, but as crabs run larger, from six to seven slices of bacon may be used in- stead of four. Fried bread should garnish both these dishes. Crol^tes Strasbourg aux CEufs. — Butter a bag. Cut four squares of stale bread, all of a size. Free them from crust. Butter them thinly and dust lightly with pepper. Spread a layer of foie gras on each. Put in •the bag and cook in the oven for 5 minutes. Then cut open the bag, and break an egg on top of each square of bread. Dust the top of the egg with pepper and a very little salt SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 89 and cook for another 4 minutes. Take out, dish up on a very hot dish, and serve. Egjgs a la Tripe. — Take half a pint of white sauce, made with an ounce of flour, an ounce of butter, and half a pint of milk, and flavored with a little mace. Add to it two large thinly-sliced onions cooked in a little butter in a bag, and from four to six halved hard-boiled eggs. Pour gently into a. well- greased double bag and make very hot in the oven for 10 minutes. Dish up on a hot dish and serve as quickly as possible, StufFant6 a la Milanaise.-— Cut a round from the top of six tomatoes, scoop out the seeds, dust well with pepper and salt, and put a bit of butter in each tomato, fill with finely- minced cold veal and bacon or mutton or beef and bacon. Sprinkle fried breadcrumbs on top, grease a bag well, put in the tomatoes and cook in a fairly quick oven for from 10 t(^ 12 minutes. Dish up on a very hot dish and serve. Riz k la Strasbourg.— • Take 4 oz. of freshly-boiled rice, mix with it the contents of a jar of Strasbourg paste (not the fat, only the pStie) and work up lighfly but thor6ugh^j^ 90 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY with a fork. Butter a bag thickly and put in the mixture; cook for lo minutes in a very hot oven, turn out on to a hot dish, garnish with a little grated yolk of freshly-boiled (hard) egg and serve at once. Riz anx Crevettes.— Take 4 oz. of boiled rice. Add to it pepper and salt to taste, a lump of butter about the size of a big Brazil nut, and two dessertspoonfuls of finely-grated cheese. Put this mixture into a well-greased bag, and make very hot for 6 minutes. Then open the bag and stir in gently a few of flaked shrimps. Mix in lightly with a fork. Re- place the bag on the broiler, and make hot for another 5 minutes. Dish up and serve. Dried Herrings aux Fines Herbes. — Few people know how very nice smoked and dried fish can be when cooked in a paper-bag and seasoned in the French fashion. Take four dried herrings, bone them, fill the cavities with a little (about half a teaspoonful to each fish) finely minced shallot or chives and parsley. Add a few fresh breadcrumbs and tiny bits of butter. If liked, a tiny grate of nutmeg may be added as well as a good dust of pejipcr. Put into a well-greased bag, and SOYER^S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 91 bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Dish up and serve as hot as possible. Other dried fish are excellent prepared in the same way. Jambon Milanaise.— Take some six slices of either raw ham or breakfast bacon, machine cut if possible, take also half a pint of cold boiled peas, and, if to hand, half a dozen cold boiled new potatoes. Put the slices into the bag and cook them. Then take out and add the peas and the potatoes, the latter first thinly sliced, and cook in the ham fat till very hot. Empty out gently on to a hot dish and pour over the peas half a pint of very hot well- seasoned tomato pulp or tomato catsup, which- ever is preferred. The peas and potatoes should be arranged as a border with the slices in the middle. When they can be had half a dozen chicken livers are a great improvement to this dish. THE BAG AND THE BACHELOR HOW A LONELY BARRISTER ENTER- TAINED A GUEST. (by A COOKERY EXPERT.) He came in with a most gloomy expression, and sat down close, too close, to my desk, where I was up to my eyes in "paper-bag" correspondence and in no mood for confi- dences. "He," I must explain, is the youngest brother-in-law, and spoilt, well — spoilt as only a bachelor with a nice profession and a nice income can be. "Whatever is the matter?" I queried, crossly, divided between curiosity and a de- sire to get on with my work without inter- ruption. "Baxter has gone," he said, mournfully. Baxter is his housekeeper, and, according to him, one of tl\e greatest treasures that ever fell to the lot of bachelor. " Only for a day or two," he went on. " But Tve got " — and ^2 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 93 he named a very eminent lawyer indeed, one who has it in his power to distribute briefs galore — " coming to supper." And he sighed deeply. ' " Take him to a restaurant/' I replied, un- feelingly. " He won't restaurant," said Baxter's mas- ter with bitterness. " Says they upset his di- gestion, gastric trouble, and all that. He can only eat white foods, and must have a fruit salad at every meal. Talk of fads 1 " " Cook the supper yourself," I suggested. "You've got an electric stove, you know." He looked at me as if I had said something most peculiarly heartless. " Cook it myself I Oh, come, I say, you might show a little feeling and interest when you see me in such a fix." " Paper-bag it," I went on, calmly, holding one up for inspection. His face lit up. "Do you think I could? You see I've never cooked since I was a fag at Beaumont." " Now look here," I said, severely. " If I give you the paper-bags and tell you what to do, will you go away and do it and let me get on with my work? '* 94 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY He gave me a most unforensic wink. " You bet What a lark I Til have Briggs up to help me." Briggs is his best chum — a most lethargic youth. " He can watch the things and see they don't boil over." " They don't want any watching. You just grease the bag, and in some cases the piece of meat or fish. Turn on the gas or the electric stove for eight minutes, and they do them- selves after that; and then when they're done you turn them out gently on to a hot dish and eat them." " I have a genius for eating," he interrupted, frivolously, as he made a grab at a pile of ' bags. " How many shall I want? " " One only for each dish," said I, rescuing the precious things with haste from his clutches. " Now be sensible, if you can, for a minute." And I proceeded to give him the following menu: — Filleted Soles, fines herbes. Sweetbreads au naturel. Green Peas. Roast Fowl. Savory Crumbs. New Potatoes. Salad. Asparagus. Fruit Salad. Coffee. SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 95 I gave him full instructions, and late that night he rang me up on the telephone. " Was it a success ? '* I asked, although I knew the answer beforehand. "A success? I should just think so. The old boy was delighted. Helped himself twice to everything, and asked who my cook was I I'm thinking of giving a little supper party next week; I suppose you could let me have one or two more recipes, eh ? " So for the convenience of bachelors gener- ally I give the following recipes : — Filleted Soles Fines Herbes. — Take four or six fillets of sole, dust lightly with salt and white pepper, and sprinkle also lightly with finely minced parsley, chopped mushrooms, and a very little minced shallot. Add the tiniest possible squeeze of strained lemon juice. Put a bit of butter on each fillet and slip them gently into a well-greased bag, add quarter of a glass of sherry. Bake in a mod- erately hot oven for 15 to 18 minutes. Cut open the bag very carefully with a pair of clean scissors, and slip the fish and the sauce which will have formed during cooking on to a very hot dish. Send to table at once. 96 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY Sweetbreads au Naturel. — Take four sweetbreads. Parboil them. Take oflf the skins. Grease a bag thickly. Dust each sweetbread with salt and pepper very lightly, and pour over each sweetbread a tablespoonf ul of cream. Slip the sweetbreads into the greased bag, cook in an only moderately hot oven slowly for 40 minutes. Open bag. Slip out gently on to hot dish. Surround with border of green peas and serve. Green Peas.— Butter a bag well. Put ia the peas, a pint to the four sweetbreads, three or four leaves of mint, a teaspoonful of pow- dered sugar and salt to taste, a sprinkling of flour, and a small tumbler of water, or, better still, if to hand, good white veal or chicken stock. Place bag on broiler or gas broiler. Cook gently for 60 minutes. Fowl.— Savory crumbs. Wash the fowl out well inside with plenty of cold water. Dry ;Well, put the liver and a small shallot inside the bird. Have ready a large tablespoonful of white breadcrumbs. Add to them a lump of butter the size of a big walnut, pepper and salt to taste, a teaspoonful of finely minced chives, and a teaspoonful of well washed and YER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 97 tarragon. Mix all together and put bag with the bird. Cook gently for utes. Open bag. Slip bird and crumbs tly on to a hot dish and send to table 0^9 failing this, use a little cold milk. Lay this mixture on the inside of the meat. Roll as tightly as possible, tie into place with clean tape or string. Grease the bag well. Put in I lb. of peeled and halved potatoes, choosing these all as nearly of a size as possi- ble. Then put in the meat. Add the other and put in the rest of the potatoes. Put in bag in a very hot oven. Lower the gas half- way (or push in the dampers), and cook for an hour and a quarter or an hour and a half, according as the meat is liked well, over or io6 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY underdone. Turn out, serve with a little red currant jam, if jelly is not possible. Baked bread pudding will be fotmd very acceptable after this. To make it, soak half a pound or more of stale bread overnight in cold water. Then beat up with a fork till quite light. Now add to it an ounce of brown sugar, 2 ozs. of well- washed currants, 2 ozs, ditto ditto raisins, I oz. of candied peel, and a good lump of dripping. Beat up the mixture thoroughly. Sprinkle it thickly on top with brown sugar. Grease a bag thickly, put in the mixture, and bake for 40 minutes. Open the bag, slip out gently, dust with sifted sugar, and serve. Thursday Chop the cold mutton left over from Wednesday finely. Dust it with pepper, salt, a little powdered sweet herbs, and add to it a large finely chopped onion. Sprinkle the whole well with seasoned flour. Add any cold gravy which may be over from the day before, and a couple of slices of lean flank of bacon and a tablespoonful of Worcester sauce, with the same amount of water. Grease the bag. Put in the mince. Cook gently for half SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 107 an hour, turn out, and serve with baked pota- toes. A jam roly-poly pudding will be a nice fin- ish to this dinner. It is too well-known to need a recipe. Friday A little fish once a week not only makes a nice change in the monotony of the midday meal, but is often a distinct saving both in health and pocket. Stuffed and baked had- docks are delicious. Make a stuffing in exactly the same way as described for stuffed breast of mutton. Wash the fish well and cut off the head ; then put in the stuffing. Sew up the fish or secure tightly with white cotton. Grease the outside of the fish slightly, this to take the place of the " bits of butter " put on the fish when the latter is cooked in the oven in the old way. Grease the bag well. Put in the fish and bake for from 20 to 30 minutes, according to whether two small fish or one large one is used. Slip out gently and serve with baked potatoes. Dressed macaroni will serve for a pudding. Take yi lb. of cooked macaroni. Add to it a little white pepper, from 2 ozs. to 4 ozs. of io8 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY grated cheese, and a liberal 2 ozs. of nut margarine, which is quite equal to butter in every respect, and contains no animal fat whatever. Grease the bag well with the nut margarine. Mix the macaroni well up with the cheese and nut butter, slip into the bag, and cook in a hot oven for 10 minutes. Slip out on to a hot dish and serve at once. Saturday On Saturday the housewife usually has a good deal of cleaning up and mending to do for the morrow, so she will need something which does not require much preparation be- forehand. Liver and bacon, always a highly appre- ciated dish, will meet the difficulty, and there is no fear of it " catching " in the bag if she should chance to be called away for a minute or two. Slice I lb. of very fresh liver, dip each piece into flour nicely seasoned with salt and pep- per. Put a piece of liver on top of each rasher of bacon. Grease the bag slightly. Put in the rashers and liver. Cook for 25 minutes. Open the bag, and slip out the meat gently on to a very hot dish. Put boiled po- SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 109 tatoes round as a border, and pour the gravy over the potatoes. Jam buns are a tremendous saving of trou- ble when the housewife is very busy on a Saturday. Get half a dozen stale buns. Split them open. Pour a little boiling milk or water over them. Spread thickly with golden syrup. Make very hot in a bag (greased) • INVALID COOKERY Sweetbread Mackenzie. — Blanch and trim a good sized sweetbread, make a little mire- poir of vegetables, paying attention to tlie color of the vegetables and seeing that they do not brown. Cut the sweetbread across the center, but do not halve it. Pound i oz. of pistachios and lay them in the slit of the sweetbread. Cover the sweetbread with the prepared vegetables and place in a well-but- tered bag. Cook in a slow oven for 30 min- utes. Dish the sweetbread, place the other ingredients in a fine sieve and lightly press the gravy through on to the sweetbread. Chicken and Rice Tea. — Chop up half a raw chicken, wash a tablespoonful of rice in cold water and mix with the chicken. Wash a teaspoonful of pearl barley and add with a quarter of a pint of cold water. Put the whole in a small paper-bag and cook for 40 to 55 minutes in a slow oven. no SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY in Chicken Quennelle. — Take the breast of one fowl, add a pint of white sauce and a piece of butter the size of a walnut. Pound well, mix in one egg, pass through a hair sieve. Place in a basin, add a quarter of a pint of cream and stir well. Form small quennelles with a spoon, place in a well-but- tered bag, lay carefully on a broiler, and cook for six minutes in a hot oven. Filleted Poultry for Invalids. — Mince up finely a carrot, turnip, and onion, add a lit- tle ham, a pinch of sugar and salt, and place at the bottom of small well-buttered bag. Slice the breast of a fowl, lay the slices on the prepared vegetables, sprinkle with oiled but- ter. Seal and cook six minutes in a slow oven. Dish the fillets, put the vegetables in a small sieve, press lightly and pour the gravy over the fillets. Minced Chicken for Invalids.*- Finely mince the breast of a chicken, add a table- spoonful of cream, the yolk of an egg, and a little salt. Lay in a small bag, together with a small piece of toast placed at the side. Cook for 5 minutes in a hot oven. Serve in the bag. 112 SQYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY Baked Custard for Invalids.— Peel and remove the seeds from a slice of tomato, add a pinch of salt. Break three eggs and place the yolks in a basin, add a tablespoonful of cream and half a pint of milk. Place the tomato at the bottom of a small pie dish, stir in the custard over the tomato, place in a bag« seal, and bake for 20 minutes in a slow oven. Beef Tea.— Put one pound of beef steak in a paper-bag, seal it and put on broiler in a moderate oven for 12 minutes. Take the par- cel and place on a dish. Open the bag and you will find the natural gravy on the dish. Cut the steak and squeeze the juice from it, strain into a hot cup, and serve at once. Sea- son to taste. Chicken Tea.— Cut up half a fresh fowl. Break up the bones with a chopper. Place in paper-bag. Add two tablespoonfuls of water, seal up, and place on the broiler. Allow 45 minutes in a slow oven. Strain as in the fore- going recipe and serve. / / / / MR. GEORGE R. SIMS ON PAPER-BAG COOKERY . I. The following articles by Mr, George R, Sims, who is well known for his interest in cookery and knowledge of epicurean mat- ters, are reprinted by his kind permission from the "Daily Chronicle." " The proof of the pudding is in the eat- ing." That is the homely proverb drawn from the homely art. Most of the wisdom of the past that has taken its place in the proverbial philosophy of the present drew its illustration from war and the sports of the field, which were the occupations of men, or the domestic arts, which were the occupations of women. And there is no more useful proverb to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest for our guid- ance in the general concerns of life than the one which bridges with golden common sense 113 114 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY the passage of the pudding from the pot to the palate. The preservation of flavor is one of the great points in Paper-Bag Cookery. Men, as a rule, make better cooks than women — I am writing of professional cooks — because no man goes in for cooking as a career unless he is really interested in the art, and has a taste for it, whereas thousands of women take it up because there is more money to be earned by calling oneself a good plain cooky than there is by going into domestic service as a scrubber of floors, a duster of furniture, or a hander-round of dishes. By the ordinary home method of cookery all the " disagreeables " attending the process are increased, and it is a method which has proved so unsatisfactory that the saying " God sent the meat and the devil sent the cooks " is sure of a cordial reception in the average household. Paper-Bag Cookery will lighten the labor of the ordinary woman cook enormously. As her own kitchen-maid, she will be relieved of many sorrows of the sink, and the cleansing and polishing of pots and pans will no longer occupy so large a portion of her time. Alike SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 115 to the paid cook and to the humble housewife, who has to prepare all the family meals her- self, the saving of time in the Soyer system will come as a boon and a blessing. This is the broad general view that will be taken of cookery in the Paper-Bag. But we must come back to the first great principle in arriving at the value of cooked articles of food, and that is the eating. And it is in this connection that we have to consider the preservation of what I have called " the shades of flavor." It must have occurred to most men who think occasionally, as dogs always do, with their noses, that the more or less powerful fumes and perfumes which are given off by various foods in the process of cooking must affect to some extent the other foods which are in the sphere of their influence. This is exactly what happens. How often in the old-fashioned eating-houses when the various joints and the poultry were served with their juices and sauces and seasonings from the same " hot plate " has the customer found the mixed flavors of half a dozen items on the bill of fare in the one dish he has selected, and that the meat or poultry he is ii6 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY eating has in the process of acquiring all the other flavors lost its own. In Paper-Bag Cookery not only is the nat- ural flavor of every article of food preserved, but all alien, or shall we say undesirable, fla- vours are kept at bay. Paper-Bag Cookery, provided that the proper and suitable paper be used, will mean in many homes not only a revolution, but a revelation. Thousands of men and women who have never known what really good cook- ing means to the palate and the appetite will be in the position of the young American girl who arrived for the first time in England on a lovely May morning. Looking out of the window of the train that was tearing through the green pasture lands of rural England towards the great city, she suddenly turned to her mother and exclaimed, " Oh, mother, now I know what green is ! " When in the homes of modest resource the contents of the Paper-Bag that has passed through the culinary process are placed upon the table, and the savory smell has been suc- ceeded by the delicious flavor, husband and children will join in the cry of homage to the new method of the m^nagere, and exclaim : SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 117 " Oh, mother, now we know what cooking IS I" II. It was in the early fifties that Monsieur A. Soyer, of the Reform Club, the immortal " Alexis," published his " Gastronomic Re- generator; a simplified and entirely new sys- tem of cookery." Over half a century ago the " Morning Chronicle " described Alexis Soyer as the ap- proved philanthropist whose name would ever be gratefully remembered by the housewives of England as their guide, philosopher, and friend in the art of making themselves and all around them happy. Alexis Soyer was the greatest gastronomic regenerator of the Nineteenth Century, and to-day we are hailing his grandson as the greatest gastronomic regenerator of the Twen- tieth. " Paper-Bag cookery " is the homely Eng- lish equivalent of the "en papillote" of the classical cuisine of the French. It was Hippocrates who said, " That which pleases the palate nourishes," and the art of eating becomes a mere occupation when the Ii8 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY appetite is appeased with foods from which the best qualities, both of nutriment and flavor, have been extracted in the processes of cook- ing, and left behind in the pots and pans. In the average British household two-thirds of the nourishment contained in the whole- some and natural foods of man go down the kitchen sink or into the dustbin. And from that portion which, after the cooking proc- esses, survives for the table of the English- man's home, the flavor has been remorselessly extracted. Among all the guides to the proper offerings to be laid on the altar of the modem Little Mary, scant stress has hitherto been laid on the immense waste of the properties in food in our popular processes of preparation. We laugh at the story of the Irish hand- maiden who, faced for the first time with the preparation of oysters for her mistress's table, put the shells on a dish after carefully remov- ing and throwing away " the insides." But very much the same sort of thing is go- ing on in the homes of all classes of the com- munity. No amount of saucing and spicing, none of the elaborate preparations which, in the homes SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 119 of the well-to-do, convert plain and wholesome food into the elaborate " a la " of the modem menu can compensate the consumer for the loss of the nourishing qualities which have been extracted in the ordinary processes of cooking the raw material. Of " en papillote " or " paper-bag cookery " we have hitherto had few examples. As a rule the method is confined to the " poulet en papillote " or " red mullet en papillote," but the famous ancestor of the present M. Soyer was in the habit of serving lamb chops in this way. Apart from the question of cleanliness, economy of time in the kitchen, and the preser- vation of the food value of the material used, there is the great digestive question to con- sider, for digestion to-day is a very important factor in the unfolding of the domestic drama. By cooking alimentary substances undergo a two-fold change. Their principles are chemi- cally modified and their textures mechanically changed. The extent and nature, however, of these changes will greatly depend upon the manner in which heat has been applied to them. The ordinary processes of applying heat are 120 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY roasting, boiling, frying, broiling and baking. Roasting is a process which requires consid- erable care and attention on the part of the cook or the roast not only loses much of its quality, but also a considerable amount of its flavor. In boiling the meat is deprived of some of its nutritive qualities by the removal of a por- tion of its soluble constituents; the albumen and the gelatin are acted upon, the former be- ing solidified and the latter converted into a gelatinous substance. If meat, therefore, is boiled too long or too fast, we get, in meat such as beef, a hard and indigestible mass, and in meat such as veal a gelatinous sub- stance equally injurious to the digestive or- ganic. In frying, the heat is applied through the medium of boiling oil or fat, which is ren- dered empyreumatic, and, therefore, extremely liable to disagree with the delicate stomach. In baking, the substance is heated in a con- fined space, which does not permit the escape of the fumes arising from it, and by retaining its juices, is rendered not only more tender, but more savory than by any of the other processes. SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 121 It is this process that brings us nearest to the Paper-Bag Cookery which has attracted the attention of so many thousands of the readers of " The Daily Chronicle." Paper- bag cookery has to be considered, not only from the point of view of the preservation of food values and food flavors. It has made itself a question of the hour — for obvious reasons I avoid calling it a burning question — because of its general adaptability to the needs of the people in their culinary limita- tions, and the sanitary advantages it possesses over the happy-go-lucky processes of the or- dinary kitchen. And finally, it must recommend itself to the popular imagination because of the many dainty additions it will make to the menu of the housewife of cultured palate, but of mod- est means. III. Mrs. Glasse of " First catch your hare " fame has achieved immortality through a popular error. As a matter of fact, Mrs. Glasse did not write the Cookery Book which bears her name, and the phrase which was originally " First 122 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY cast your hare " was in time altered to " First scatch your hare," — ** to scatch " meaning " to skin." But there is no ambiguity in the advice proffered to those about to put Paper-Bag Cookery to the test. " First get your paper- bag, and be sure that it is of the right kind." There is paper and paper, and all paper is not properly prepared to come into contact with food in the process of cooking. There is paper which may, in the course of ordinary manufacture, have acquired certain properties which would not only impart an unpleasant taste to the food, but might have an injurious effect upon the consumer. It is because the popular success of paper- bag cookery depends upon the paper that only bags specially and scientifically prepared for the purpose should be used. As the proper bags are now to be had with- out difficulty, there is no reason why thou- sands of meals which are now served cold because of the difficulties of preparing and cooking food in the ordinary way at picnics, outdoor gatherings, campings-out, etc., should not be served hot with as little trouble as in restaurants or private houses. SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 123 It IS not given to everyone to prefer cold food to hot, nor for a good many people is cold food as digestible as hot. Moreover, the cold menu does not allow of the variety which is not only charming but essential to any dietary which is to do something more than merely satisfy the cravings of hunger. A man who dines daily on the same food we look upon as eccentric because he is discarding the conventional idea of varying the daily fare. Convention is the wisdom we inherit from our ancestors. It is the concentrated experience of the past, and it is the concentrated ex- perience of the past that leads us to vary the menu of our principal meals. The Soyer system means a vast increase in properly cooked hot meals in small houses, and a general relief from the tyranny of the cold collation which is often a drawback to the joy of a day spent in the open. In every part of L/)ndon where the workers are working away from home you will see in humble eating houses the legend " Hot meals served here " boldly displayed. The hot meal was the beginning of civiliza- tion; it meant the passing of man from the savage state. 124 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY The advent of the Soyer method means death to cold food as a makeshift meal. No pots and pans, no big array of heterogeneous kitchen utensils will be required. You put your meat and the accompanying ingredient of the dish into a bag, and the rest is for the fire and a pair of watchful eyes. The gipsies have for ages cooked on what is practically the Soyer system, and no one who has dined or supped with the gipsies around the gipsy fire will ever want to eat better cooked food. The gipsies brought the idea with them from India, from which they wandered out to spread themselves over the world. They enclose the bird or hedgehog or the special Romany luxury in a case of clay, and put it into the fire. When the clay case is removed the meat within is tender, savory and delicious. The gipsy idea is the far-off origin of "en pa- pillote" of which the Soyer method is the twentieth-century perfection. The new and simple method of clean, quick and appetizing cookery will appeal, as I have said, beyond the limits of the home. It will travel far. It will sweep into oblivion the primitive methods of the bush, the prairie, and SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 125 the jungle, and the vast tracts of solitude over which the sons of Empire wander for profit, for pleasure, for adventure, or for sport. In the depths of the lonely valley, on the sum- mit of the cloud-capped mountains, among the eternal snows, and on the sand-swept deserts the traveler with a supply of the special paper-bags will be able to cook a meal that may be to many a wandering son of Britain a sunny souvenir of the Savoy and a radiant reminiscence of the Ritz. Already I see in fragrant fancy the new pioneer clearing a forest space which is to be the site of a mighty city and cooking himself a dainty dinner of four courses when the day's work is done. . The Soyer Paper-Bag may be the one touch of culinary art that is to make the whole world kin in the kinship of the cuisine. FROM A HEALTH POINT OF VIEW By Dr. Charles Reinhardt (Author of " Diet and the Maximum Dura- tion OF Life"). Man has been differentiated from the mem- bers of the lower creation as the only animal which cooks its food. The art of cooking is older than civilization, and in spite of the theories of the " uncooked- foods cult " is es- sential thereto. There are several reasons for cooking most of the foods which we consume, the chief of which, however, may be grouped under two headings: the hygienic and the aesthetic. Certain foods are rendered more digestible by efficient cooking — that the opposite result follows the inexpert efforts of the amateur chef no one who has eaten an ill-cooked din- ner needs to be told. The heat applied dur- ing the process of cooking partially sterilises the food, thereby averting certain dangers we 126 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 127 should otherwise meet with. All animal para- sites are killed during the process of cooking, provided that the temperature is maintained for some time at not less than 70 deg. C, but certain bacteria require greater heat to destroy them. Cooking improves the appearance of most of the foods we eat; it also develops in many new, attractive and appetising flavours which are by no means unimportant even from the hygienic point of view, as they con- duce to perfect digestion. Cooked foods of certain kinds keep longer without turning ran- cid or undergoing objectionable forms of fer- mentation and decomposition than the same foods which have not undergone the process. In spite of the fact that cooking is so im- portant where most of our foods are con- cerned, many of the methods employed have the very opposite ef?ect of those outlined above. The food materials are rendered com- paratively insoluble, and therefore difficult of digestion; their most valuable ingredients are either destroyed or washed away and dis- carded, or being volatile escape into the kitchen and pollute the atmosphere of the entire resi- dence. Unskilful cooking of meat completely coagu- 128 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY lates the exterior of the joint, in some cases rendering it unfit for food, whereas the in- terior is hardly subjected to the culinary process at all, the result being an indigestible, unpalatable, and repulsive mess. The cooking of vegetables of all kinds may be no less disastrous to their food value. The nutritive and blood-purifying salts are thrown away in the water in which the vegetables are boiled, the volatile oils are dissipated into the atmosphere, the organic phosphates, the dias- tatic ferments and the health-restoring " en- zymes " are apt to be destroyed, and all that is left is an insipid mass largely composed of insoluble cellulose, from which a horse or a donkey might extract some amount of nutri- ment, but which is insusceptible of assimila- tion by the human economy. For many years the defects of the ordinary methods employed in the kitchen have been known to dietitians, and various suggestions for their elimination have been made — such, for instance, as the substitution of the Nor- wegian hay-box for the kitchen range, or of the " Bainmarie,** as used in France, or the duplex boilerette, all of which have their good points — but, so far as my own experience SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY 129 goes, no more beneficent and certainly no more strikingly revolutionary method of over- coming nearly all the. difficulties attendant upon the culinary art has been devised than that of M. Soyer, who, by the eminently simple de- vice of cooking foods of all kinds in sealed paper-bags of special construction, achieves at once the true object of cooking in a fashion which no other method with which I am fa- miliar can accomplish. The advantages of- fered by M. Soyer are numerous and indis- putable : — First must be mentioned economy ; there is no loss of the actual food materials, but every- thing is conserved; there is a, saving on the outlay upon cooking utensils, pots and pans being dispensed with; there is also a saving upon fuel, for the paper-bags being effective non-conductors of heat, an even temperature is maintained, which effects the cooking with considerable expedition. Then there is in- creased cleanliness; pots and pans, under the best of conditions, are seldom ideally clean, M. Soyer's paper-bags absolutely so, and in fact completely sterile. The objectionable smell of cooking, often so destructive of appetite, is done away with altogether. The burning of 130 SOYER'S PAPER-BAG COOKERY the foods becomes practically impossible, and the finished dishes leave nothing to be desired in point of flavour, tenderness and nutritive- ness. Monsieur Soyer's device is essentially a labour-saving one, and will come — when, as it deserves to be, it is universally recognised and adopted — as a boon to all classes without any exception whatever. Having tasted a dozen dishes of the most varied character, cooked under my own obser- vation by M. Soyer, and having discussed the outline of his system with the Master Chef himself, I am able to speak both from theo- retical and practical appreciation. ♦UNION COOKING BAGS" Are manufactured expressly to conform to the di- rections of the sponsors of Soyer's Paper-Bag Cookery method in America NONE GENUINE WITHOUT THE WORD " UNION " AND SHIELD TRADE-MARK These special bags essential to cooking success ECONOMICAL -- LABOR-SAVING — HYGIENIC No Pot and Pan Scrubbing No waste in the cooking No Cooking Smell No dirt, grease, and consequent germs BETTER FOOD At your grocer's If not, address our nearest selling-agent SELLING AGENTS Wheeler, Fisher & Co. Chicago, 111. Samuel Cupples Wooden Ware Co. St. Louis, Mo., and Chicago, 111. The Chatfield & Woods Co. Cincinnati, O. Hollingsworth & Whitney Co. Boston, Mass. D. S. Walton & Co. New York John S. Riegel Bag Co. Philadelphia, Pa. Smith, Dixon Co. Baltimore, Md. They will see that you get the authorized bags. THE UNION BAG & PAPER COMPANY 17 Battery Place NEW YORK CITY a=IDM37MTaO'l III b890^37^9209a / ^0 J f?/fpeR -2^ "N \